Knights of the Old Republic: Jedi Secrets
by Elizabeth Carter
Summary: A retelling of Knights of the Old Republic:Femslash L/grayside FemRevan/Bastilia/ (friendship) Juhani. Skye Ravensong a scout for the Republic begins to see through the memories of the Sith Lord and she remembers how she once loved a Jedi before heading off into war. Revan struggles with the mist of lies the Jedi told her and what was before the fall. Through it all is Bastila.
1. Chapter 1

AUTHOR: Elizabeth E. Carter

TITLE: JEDI SECRETS

SERIES: Star wars: Knights of the Old Republic I:

PAIRING: LF Revan / Bastila and Juhuni

CATEGORY: action / romance  
RATING: M for mature

SUMMARY: Knights of the Old Republic novelized from my own choices in the game.

AUTHORS NOTES: Some choices lead almost to the same responses so I opted for both in some cases of dialog. I also pulled a Peter Jackson by having some events take place at another time to fit time-line continuity a bit better and I also have some lines that happened in cannon spoken by another character though it will not change the events that happen we know in cannon game. (i.e. words spoken by Gandalf in LotR to Eowyn in the book were given to Wormtongue in the movie.) I also nicked lines from the Star Wars movies that paralleled the events in the game as well as foreshadowing the events in the second game. And because I like some of the color options for light sabers in the second game as well as the Jedi armor I transferred some of their items into this story. On that note the robe choices and armor for the Jedi are far superior to in the 1st game. So I'm adopting the robe choices as well. I also quoted lines and information from books and Star Wars Wiki about planets and historical events.

2) Despite my female Revan, I must also make note in cannon (despite game options) Revan is male so the romance of Bastila occurs but not Juhuni as she is the 1st cannon lesbian in the Star Wars games. But I thumbed my nose at that and made it all Femslash. So some things will vary from those who are experienced with playing the male Revan (I had to play it once as a male to get all the lines and reactions…) I also deviated from cannon in another factor: Revan was a Human in the game, in my story I turned her into a Nagai, because I love the elfin look (Drow, Bosmer, Dunmer, Silver, all of Tolkien) and as they don't have elves in Star Wars, the Nagai were the closest. (And yes I made mention of the Exile as being ½ Nagai.) I also use a bit of Klingon culture (all rights are to Paramount and Gene Rodenberry) for the Nagai because there is little to be had with the above mentioned recourses. Anyone recognizing things as Night Mother will know they are from Morrowind/Oblivion and all rights are owned by Bathusda, as do the Nord (a nationality I imported to give to Northern Corllilions)

.DISCLAIMER: Gorge Lucas owns all of this and LucasArts/ Bioware own the concept of the Revan, and other characters. History of the Old Republic via Wookipedia contributors. No doubt there will be readers who will recognize races from Morrowind/Oblivion and phrases from Baulder's Gate games. Well they belong to said game creators.

_In the last Days of the Old Republic, the Sith-followers of the Force's dark side and ancient enemies of the Jedi Order—numbered two: one Master and one apprentice. Yet it was not always so. Four thousand years before the Republic's collapse and Emperors Palpatine's rise to power the Sith were legion…_

_A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…_

**STAR**

**WARS**

**Knights of the Old Republic**

**4,000 years before the rise of the Galactic Empire, the Republic verges on collapse. DARTH REVAN and DARTH MALAK, the new Dark Lords of the Sith have unleashed an invincible armada on an unsuspecting galaxy.**

**Crushing all resistance, Revan's war of conquest has left the Jedi Order scattered, as countless Knights fall in battle and many more swear allegiance to the new Sith Masters.**

**In order to combat the Sith the Jedi High Council has sent BASTILA SHAN, a prodigy of the rare Jedi talent of Battle Meditation, and a team of Jedi Knights to set a trap for the Dark Lords. Unless they are stopped, they will snuff out the flame of peace and freedom in the galaxy…**

SWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSW

The blast hit hard enough to rattle teeth out of a skull. Skye Ravensong was half-tumbled, half-thrown out of her bed from a second hit. Ravensong, garbed in nothing but her skin, managed to regain her balance despite the repeated blasts that threatened to send her back on her backside.

Skye Ravensong held a refined rare beauty, with midnight blue eyes and thick silky black hair which she kept back in a lose pony tail. Her forelock hung slightly over her upswept pencil-thin eyebrows. Her ears were taped into narrow tips at the end reveling her Nagai blood. Her angular face was heightened in loveliness by her high cheekbones and narrow nose. Her bottom lip was almost pouty and elegantly shaped. She was thin but not overly so, for Sky and an athlete's body. But then most Nagai had a gymnast's build: thin, wiry and toned, it was in the 'elfin' DNA. Skye was a near stereotypical specimen for her race what would have been refined for a Human was ordinary for the 'Knives.'

She only just got to her feet when one of the _Endar Spire_'s officers burst through her door.

"Who the hell are you?" Skye demanded her voice sharp but not shrill. She took an immediate martial stance which was not lost on the intruder. He wasn't intimidated per say as much as impressed.

"Trask Ulgo, Ensign of the Republic Fleet," he answered quickly in a mechanized fashion. Skye was surprised she wasn't given his service number, along with his name and rank. "I'm, your bunk-mate but we work opposite shifts. I guess that's why you never met me before."

_Ah right._ Skye knew she shared quarters with a male judging by a few of the clothing items she occasionally saw, not to mention the male military-issue bathroom kit bag in the refresher. "What's going on?" She asked over her shoulder not caring that he saw her nude form going for her wardrobe so she might collect her clothing and gear.

"We got ambushed by a Sith battle fleet. The _Endar Spire_ is under attack. Hurry up we don't have much time, the captain called for an abandon-ship. We've got to find Bastila and make sure she gets off this ship."

"Bastila…?" The name sat on the edge of memory lingering there as a bantha in the room. "One of the Jedi, right?" Skye asked, slamming her foot into a calf-length boot.

"The same. Bastila is the commanding officer of _Endar Spire_, well not an officer really. Like you said a Jedi. She's in charge of this mission. Ravensong, our primary duty now isn't the ship but insure Bastila's survival, you took an oath just like everyone else on this mission, now it's time to make good on that oath."

"Just because I'm not an infantry solider doesn't mean I will hightail it out of here looking after my own skin. You don't have to remind me of my oath any more than you'd remind the captain of his," Skye shot back skirting on her stealth-field generator and utility belt.

"I'm used to raw recruits getting nervous before battle, reminding them of their oaths gives them strength."

"Understood," Skye answered strapping the scabbard of her short sword across her back, leaving her hip free for her blaster.

"I heard what everyone's been saying about you, that you've explored the furthest reaches of the galaxy. You been to planets I will never see let alone heard of. People with your skills and abilities are hard to find, no wonder the Republic recruited you for this mission. Bastila needs all the troops at her side during this attack. The Sith might have already boarded the ship to try and capture Bastila."

Skye nearly skidded to a halt when her communicator went off showing her the blue holo-image of a bridge officer. *This is Carth Onasi, the Sith are threatening to overpower our position! We can't hold off for long. All hands to the Bridge! Repeat all hands to the Bridge.*

Skye had little time to socialize with the senior staff of the _Endar Spire_, let alone the Bridge Crew. The name Onasi was familiar somehow. She had heard others speak of him, saying he was one of the best star pilots in the Fleet.

"Commander Onasi has seen more combat than the rest of the crew of the _Endar Spire_ put together. If he says things are bad, you better believe it. We have to get to the bridge to protect Bastila!"

"Keep moving," Ravensong shouted over the munitions bombardment. Another hit sent both careening into a bulkhead nearly missing being blown into space debris by an exploding computer terminal. An astromech droid wasn't so fortunate. Chunks of metal, wires and slag became shrapnel that imbeded themselves into the adjacent wall.

A storm of blasterfire ricocheting through the corridors suddenly stopped by the snap-hiss of a lightsaber. One of the Jedi. At last they had come. They were warriors of the greatest skill. Skye paused in her flight to watch in wonder as one Jedi took on seven Sith troopers. '_Impressive. Most impressive_.' Skye thought to herself, her eyes catching the stance of the Jedi and those of her who outnumbered her. Already Skye knew the outcome: the Sith would not survive the encounter.

"That's one of the Jedi who travelled with Bastlia. We will only get in her way. Come on Ravensong," Trask urged. "They must have made it to the escape pods!"

Skye turned to sprint alongside Trask when another blast struck the side of the ship so hard it blew the bulkhead apart. The Jedi were powerful, but even they were vulnerable to explosions. The female fell with a pitiful cry of pain. Her blood had splashed across the opposite bulkhead.

"Damn it. We could have used her help," Task snarled, rising to his feet. The blast must have sent him down to the floor. Three Republic soldiers were not so fortunate. They too had been caught in the blast and died for it.

Skye nodded and sprinted past him only to pause once again as they came across three dead Republics and a two Sith. She went to their sides, not to check vitals but to rummage through their belts, including the Jedi's. She left the lightsaber at least.

"What are you doing?" Trask was appalled at the scavenging ways of the Nagai scout. He had heard one of the scouts was a 'Knife'; they were so alien even if they looked like pale skinned pointed eared Humans. Some even called them Night-Elves out of reference to old Human stories. Most of them armed themselves with any number of blades. He knew the Knives, or rather the rumour that said they gave very little respect to the dead for the body was but a shell. Personal effects stopped being personal once death took over.

"If we are to survive, we need med-packs and anything else we need. Who knows what we'll find down on that planet once we jettison in the escape pods. I'd rather not risk being unprepared. You don't survive the outer-rim as a scout if you are squeamish about recovering things from the dead. Or didn't they teach that to you in Fleet-Academy when you went?"

"Yeah they did. I …forgot; guess I've been on a ship too long."

The Republic Fleet Academy taught a plethora of survival techniques that would save your life on a host of different class of planets. One of the first things every solider was taught was to recover all usable gear from a fallen comrade or perish alongside them for sentimentality. No doubt Skye's training as a scout in the Academy drilled this application of skill into her skull. The life of a Republic scout was often more dangerous than a grunt infantry or the navy. They were often deployed alone and behind enemy lines. They had to survive by their wits or not at all. A lot of battles had been won because of the risks the scouts put themselves in to just so they can ferret back Intel that turned the tide of the engagement.

Ravensong said nothing more on the subject, nor did he.

SWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSW

Commander Carth Onasi watched the security console screens one of the crew quartets flashed a warning that the doors had been tripped. He waited only a moment to be sure it was friendlies and not the Sith who broke Lock-down procedures before he hit the seals on the deck to effectively cut off life support. He saw Ensign Ulgo and one of the scouts the Jedi had recruited flee their quarters. On the holo-monitor he watched as they took down four Sith troopers in a small fire-fight before ducking into a corridor blocked with detritus in order to avoid a volley of small grenades. Carth knew Ulgo was a crack shot but didn't give much hope for the scout armed with a short sword. She was brave he did give her that, but not hope of living through this. She had a blaster at her side but wasn't using it. She was no Jedi, how could she think to take on the Sith with only a blade?

Six more pods away, three left. Bastila had yet to arrive.

Still monitoring the screens – smoke was choking the corridors blocking most of his view, but he could make out the moving images of Sith and Republics fighting hand to hand with blades or martial skills. One of the Sith tossed a grenade into the fray taking out the Republics and his companions. No loyalty amongst the wicked apparently. He was a bit surprised to see something ripple in the smoke and realized what it was he saw. Someone coming out of a stealth field. The Sith fell, decapitated. The little scout was clever.

'_Okay brave and clever there was some hope for her yet. Just who are you Skye Ravensong?_' All Onasi knew was what had been in the briefing with the rest of the Senior staff. Several scouts had been recruited for the mission, one of them a Nagai. She was a natural linguist and had the uncanny skill with a blade like the rest of her species. Nothing more than that, and that made Carth wary. The fact the Jedi … that _Bastila_ had asked for her deliberately made him even more so. In his experiences last minute changes always spelled disaster. This whole attack, the Nagai's presence, and the fact Bastila had little time to devote to her special meditations prior the battle. It didn't add up. And that made Onasi nervous. Instinctively he placed this little scout as someone not to be trusted. He turned from the monitors to another panel at the kiosk and drew up Ravensong's service record. There was little time to read it so he simply downloaded it into his data-PADD for later reading, if there was to be a latter that is.

He chanced to look up at the blue-holo emitters transmitting the fight below. Ulgo and Ravensong were pinned down by five troopers. Ulgo took two out with a combination of a small calibre concussion grenade and blaster fire. Ravensong however charged her two assailants. Perhaps he didn't need to go over her service record, she was about to meet a very very messy end.

SWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSW

Skye's whole body hummed to the tune of the vibroblade she had liberated from a dead Sith. She launched herself at a Sith's back—the sliver body half turned, gesturing causally to the scout to take her best shot at him. Skye ran past him vaulted up, using his shoulder as support as she drove the blade deep into his neck. He fell hard against the floor nearly taking the lighter weight of the woman with him. She managed to tumble and go with the fall, freeing her blade from his body at the same time. Her forward roll brought her directly in front of the second Sith. The trooper was rather shocked when felt a blade penetrate his body. Stupidly he looked down to see a crouched Nagai female on her knees at his groin. Instead performing his preferred style of sex, her sword had driven between the space of the armour's codpiece and greaves.

"Bitch," he gurgled before falling back in a metallic clang.

"Remind me never to piss you off," Trask chuckled though winced in sympathy for the fellow male's end. Not a happy way to go.

"He won't be making any more baby Sith," Skye said with a smile which faded abruptly at the snap-hiss of a lightsaber igniting. Beyond the threshold of the door which the needed to go through was blocked.

If she was to die at the hands of the Sith least it wasn't by a trooper but a Dark Jedi. Resigning herself to her fate, Skye prepared herself or a very short fight.

"This fight is too much for us Ravensong, come on run!" Trask pulled her away from the threshold of the corridor. He saw what from his angle that was cut off from Ravensong's point of view was the Jedi rushing into the battle. Blood red blade crashed with sky-blue. "We're cut off, we'll have to go around."

"Right."

Flying into the Bridge, Skye let out a small gasp of pain. Not from any physical wound but from the death around her. Five bodies, no Sith, all dead. An emergency force shield covered the front viewer from open space.

"My gods…" Trask uttered as he saw the carnage. What little there was of the Captain covered the helm, and operations. It was obvious he had been standing next to the controls, more likely flying the damn ship himself while his crew had been ordered to flee. There was so little of his body that wasn't minced.

"Bastila's not here," he said not knowing if he was relieved or angry the Jedi had not been able to save his captain, his crewmates…his friends. "She must have made it to the escape pods." If that is so why hadn't Onasi said anything? Were the comms down? Possibly giving the state of the bridge. "Ravensong, there is nothing we can do here; we have to get off the ship. Now that Bastila is gone there is nothing stopping the Sith from blowing the _Endar Spire_ into space dust."

As she had before, Skye pushed away her personal revulsion at the death and rummaged the mutilated bodies for anything portable they might need wherever it was they were going. 'This is death.' the epitaph of Nagai warriors. She lifted up her head and howled for the dead, alerting the Black Fleet that warriors were on their way. This was the way of her people. If Trask was surprised by the recruit's actions he gave no show of it. Perhaps he understood the honor that had been given the fallen.

The ship shuddered and smoke crawled up along Skye's body filling her lungs with metallic dust. Trask coughed his own intrusion way, both struggled through the hatch heading for the pod-bay. Their path blocked again. Again by a Dark Jedi.

Trask looked over at the youthful face of the woman beside him. He was an ageing ensign. If the other Republic soldiers and Bastila were to survive on the Sith world below they would need Ravensong more than him. She was almost Jedi-like with her skills of dodging in and out weaving like a hawk-bat rather than his clumsy kath-hound tactics. Her skills and abilities out matched his hands down. He was only an ensign she was a scout, and scouts do better in the situation that downed crew would find themselves in. Trask made a choice.

"I don't think sword up the groin is going to work with him." Ravensong chuckled started to move forward to face this dark lord. For he was no mere dark-Jedi, he was a Sith Lord. One who claimed the title Darth, the elite of their sect.

"No you don't! They will need you more than they need me." Trask pushed her back hard enough to make her loose her balance, slid on the blood into the bulkhead and over a dead body. "I'll try to hold him off, Go!"

"What the hell are you doing?" She rose to her feet rushing the door Trask had bolted through. "Trask! Force-be-damned! Trask!"

The door had slammed and locked before Skye managed to get to it. "Son-of-a kath-hound." She kicked the door with her black rancor-leather boots for good measure. "You stupid heroic bastard!" She spun on her heel, spiriting though the starboard door. "You will be remembered with honor," she whispered softly. "I'll make sure of it; if I live I will howl for you."

SWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSW

"Son-of-a-kath-hound!" Carth growled. Communications had gone down for four minutes when they came back on…he saw only Ravensong dashing down starboard-side corridors. Where was Ensign Ulgo? He was still trying to get communications back to a better measure of operation. Skye had no idea there was a Sith patrol ahead she would be walking onto an ambush.

He tried to follow her movements but one moment she was there the next…gone.

'Oh you are a clever one. A stealth-generator.' He watched in amazed awe as the tip of a sword emerged from the chest cavity of the Sith warrior. Suddenly the whole blade was sticking out of him. Silver gauntlets clutched at the edge as if to pull it free of him. But he could not get a hold, just as easily as the blade had gone in it slid out leaving only a thin red line along the armour's shinning surface.

Ravensong watched dispassionately as the body toppled to the floor. Casually she walked over the body, but not before going through the man's belongings and pocketing a few things that looked suspiciously like creds, some stims and two grenades. Carth continued to watch her progress though the ship as she tried to reach the pod-bay. Her movements stopped and she slammed her body flush against the bulkhead, steadying herself.

Carth had to switch views on the monitors to see why she suddenly stopped, though he had a healthy hunch as to why. Three troopers dead ahead. Ravensong popped the top of the grenade and tossed it around the corner from where she stood with her back pressed hard against the wall. There was a small pop-bang. An adhesive grenade then. Her next move was to come in armed with the short sword in one hand, the vibroblade in the other, once more she somersaulted forward, this time each blade coming down hard, hacking into the calves of the Sith stuck by the cyan adhesive goo of the grenade. Twin moans burled out of their throats. Ravensong ignored them as she cartwheeled into the other. She shook off a few luckily blaster hits into her chest, her armour took the brunt of the hit but it knocked her back.

SWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSW

Skye would normally have back-flipped up but she was winded, wounded and exhausted. All she could do was turn over and push herself back up to her feet. Her skull was pounded in what was going to be one mother of a migraine, and blood seeped from a dozen different cuts from a vibroblade. Skye hit the stealth generator once more, it might get her past the trooper before and it might give her a moment to gather her wits. She slammed a few epis of stims into her body filling it with added adrenalin to heighten her speed and strength. The stims flooded her body causing a brief muscle spasm before Skye reigned it in focusing all of her energy, all of her rage over the senseless deaths of friends and Trask into a her next attack.

The Sith trooper charged the corner to see nothing but instinctually the trooper knew the Republic scum was under a stealth cloak, it didn't matter, she'd be dead soon. He took wild random shots at the corridor ahead of him, spraying the area in a wide disbursement of rapid fire.

Only a desperate whirl to one side made what would have been a smoking hole in her chest into a line of scorch through the armorweave of her tac-vest. Skye slammed her blade down so hard that the shock of deflecting it with the rifle buckled the trooper's elbows. Ravensong spun around in a back kick that propelled the trooper careening into the bulkhead behind him. Skye became mechanically inexorable, impossibly powerful as an assassin droid with a sword: each step a blow and each blow a step. Her blade drove into his body deeper and deeper mowing him down like a scythe reaping the fall harvest.

SWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSW

Carth had not seen the whole thing. He saw the rush but communications winked out once more, he had managed to get them back on line again to see that Ravensong had managed to overcome the trooper that nearly killed her by some means and was not in a control room. Between her and the escape pods was a whole slew of Troopers. Without communications in full operation he couldn't tell her how to get past the squad. He prayed she was smart enough not to barge to get her head blown off. As he saw it there were two options. One fix the droid but that took time they didn't have, especially if she didn't have a skill for minor repairs. The other was the computer. With the lockdown in effect she would have to slice it.

She went for the droid first. Her hands were deft enough not to make a mess of the chassis or memory core. Inserting parts she had obviously recovered of the downed astromech droids, she was able not only repair the droid's primary patrol function, but initiate its force-shied and weapons abilities to their full capacity. When she had finished Ravensong sprinted over to the computer terminal before the droid opened the blast door. Taking out a slicing pin she tapped into the memory of the computer commanded the computer terminals in the next room to override which would cause an explosion.

'_Smart move,_' Carth approved of her measures. If the droid failed or was gunned down too quickly the computer blowing up the power couplings would blast open anyone still standing. She had doubled her effectiveness over the enemy. So this little recruit seemed to be a clear thinking tactician as well as a talented tech. So why with all her talents and obvious skills was she so low in rank, besides the obvious: her age?

Why were the Jedi, especially Padawan Bastila Shan so very interested in her? It didn't add up. And that made Commander Onasi edgy, mistrusting, and judgmental. Ensign Ulgo was an experienced junior officer but this recruit, not him, had survived the Sith boarding parties. How? No other recruit had made it, only this one. Onasi wondered if she was tied to them. How had the Sith known were the _Endar Spire_ was? Was the battle he witnessed over the security cameras all for show? Or was it coincidence? Perhaps Ravensong was simply that talented. So talented that it got Jedi attention?

SWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSW

Skye's eyes fell upon the unique blade of a vibrosword. 'Must be a prototype,' her mind catalogued even as she took it up into her hands. She felt the weight of it and approved of its superior balance to the vibroblade she had been using. There was no time to lose; the ship was on the edge of destruction. It shuddered again and again as more and more ion cannons bombard her hull.

Skye nearly lost her balance when the ship started listing. '_Not good! Not good!_' The blast door between her and the escape pods had been locked up, making her have to slice it open. Blood on her hands made it difficult to hold the security slicer but Skye managed to retain a calm about her. Panic lead to stupid mistakes if not death.

At last it opened. Skye burst through the doors coming to a skidding halt, coming face to face with a male Human wearing an orange Republic officer's uniform.

"You've made it just in time! There's only one active escape pod left. Come on, we can hide out on the planet below!"

Not even thinking about it she unholstered her blaster and pointed it at Commander Carth Onasi. "ID!" She demanded. He wasn't in a Sith uniform but that didn't mean he hadn't stolen a Republic officer's uniform donned it to blend in. The _Endar Spire_ had been ambushed. How? Obliviously a spy on board gave up their local to the Sith. This could have been the bastered to have done it. Skye wasn't going to take any chances.

The commander saw not vengeance but uncertainty in the baby-faced scout. It was understandable she had just engaged four squads of Sith troopers. Her adrenalin was running high, battle-lust was heated. "Not Sith. I am Commander Carth Onasi. I contacted you on your wrist comm"

The blaster lowered. "Sorry Sir," Skye said.

"Where's Ensign Ulgo?"

"He fell sir, he engaged with an elite dark Jedi. He ordered me to go, sir," Skye gritted her teeth for the loss of a good-man.

Onasi saw that same expression a dozen times over during the wars. It was the expression of anger and mourning for a lost platoon-mate. "Into the pod solider. We can mourn our dead latter."

"Sir!" Ravensong snapped a salute before diving through the hatch of the escape pod. She dropped her gear into one of the small cargo footlockers before securing herself into one of the seats.

Onasi was on her tail. He hit the panel causing the hatch to close, seal, and releasing the pod into space. Both watched from the porthole as the _Endar Spire_ spiralled away. With no one at the helm what was left would likely burn up in the atmosphere. Fortunately escape pods were constructed with extra shielding against the heat of re-entry their decent would not be a fiery blaze of destructive glory like _Endar Spire_.

The last of pod spiralled away from the Republic cruiser, over it like a basking firaxon shark hovered the hulking Sith destroyer. Small bursts of ion particles rippled along the hull like micron stars.

"Funny the damage doesn't seem as bad from out here." Carth muttered watching the scene of senseless carnage being carried out in the name of the Dark Lord of the Sith.

Skye was about to respond to the contrary but before a word passed her lips the ship exploded in a rose bloom of orange, yellow and blue plasma ball of gaseous detritus. The explosion could be felt in the pods hull, shaking it as a gizka in a kath-hound's mouth. The inertial dampeners over-compensated as they plunged into the atmosphere of the planet below. A super-heated red comet tail trailed off of the hull and was too much for the straining heat shields. This would not be a good landing. Both occupants had strapped themselves yet even the restraints pulled, groaned and threatened to buckle.

All over the planet the story was the same, pods descended like a meteorites, careening into the streets and hidden recesses of the city-planet of Taris, attracting the attention of Sith, and scavengers alike.

SWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSW

Carth's mind asserted itself from the depths of unconsciousness, to find himself in a very peculiar position. He was upside down held in place by the over-the shoulder restraints of the escape pod seats. Metallic smoke filled the small confines of the pod and threatened to send Carth back into unconsciousness. Already his lungs were filled with the burning carcinogens of smouldering durasteel causing him to cough and draw in desperate gulps of air only to pollute his lungs once more. His hand reached for the restraints pinning him in place, then gravity took over plunging Onasi to the inverted ceiling of the pods interior next to the recruit who was still out cold. Her blood dripped from a head wound pooling into a puddle by his boots. Her lungs wheezed straining against the smoke filling them. Carth heard that sound before. Her lungs were filling with blood. She would die soon if he didn't get her out of there.

He had to first get air in the small confines of the pod and get rid of some of the cloying smoke attempting to steal away his life. It would certainly take Ravensong's. Popping the hatch, Carth poked his head out cautiously drawing in great gulps of fresher air in greedy desperation.

Night. The dead of it given the relative light traffic and given the circumstances of an escape pod landing smack upon the Upper City streets. The pod's crash had wiped out street lamps further plunged the area in darkness. But it wasn't to last. The city was waking from the intrusive metallic cacophony of escape pods crashing all over the city. In the distance Carth saw bobbing lights of wrist beacons heading directly for him. Voices cried out in a multitude of languages. Every one of them intent on being the first to the crash site. Nothing attracted people more than a good crash in the macabre fascination they might see blood and broken bodies.

'_Here they come_.' He ducked back in knowing he had very little time to flee.

Looking around he saw the pod's emergency survival kit pack which would have been filled with stims, medpacks, and possible life-support packs. He opened it up quickly searching for an epi that would save this woman's life until he could get her to relative safety. He was a soldier; he knew any gear in here would be needed thus it was his priority over the failing survival of his companion. Any gear left would be gone if he came back for it, salvage crews and scavengers would strip it clean. If he took it all and left Ravensong she would be taken prisoner, if she ever survived the man-handling of her captors. He had to get all he could in one go. Punching in the code for the footlocker Onasi recovered the gear Ravensong had secreted and slung it over his shoulders. Only then did he return his attention back to the young woman.

He positioned himself under her as he released the buckles holding her in place. Her slight weight fell onto his shoulder with a soft thump. He was a little concerned that if she sustained broken ribs he might have just sent the busted bone into her lungs.

'_Now to get out of here_.'

The voices, once in the distance, were closer now, almost upon the site. Carth managed to clamber over the detritus of the crash only to trip in the ditch the pod had gouged into the street's surface. Unable to retain his balance he lost hold of Ravensong who had been slung over his shoulder. Her body toppled over twice into the debris. She gave out a moan of pain but did not waken. There was a very small moment when Carth thought he should leave her. A seriously injured, nearly dead comrade was a hindrance to survival. But he wasn't about to leave anyone behind. Not if they had a flicker of life in them. Ravensong held onto hers with a desperation he had rarely seen in all his years in war.

Stooping to pick her up once more he realized she must have fallen into dormo-shock. A condition where by a traumatically injured person enters a natural state of profound sleep to allow the body's regenerative and recuperative powers to heal the traumatized area; a coma. '_Thank the Force for that_.'

With most of his strength sapped away, Carth managed to drag his exhausted body and cargo into the closest complex before the onlookers and authorities reached the pod. He blundered along the circular halls hoping one of them would be open; he would not bank on a kind soul in this place. Besides the fewer people who knew they were survivors of the Republic ship the better. To his astonishment he came across a Human janitor who took one look at him and grunted.

"You're messing my halls, boy. That blood will be near impossible to clean up. Might have to resort to the droids." His wrinkled face contorted into a grimace. "Blood trails…humph! Gotta get it cleaned…before it attracts unwanted sentients. If I were you, boy, I'd take your girl and get somewhere you don't leave blood everywhere."

"That's the idea. Any open places?"

"A few. Now get. I got cleaning to do." The old man hobbled grumbling to the maintenance droids about inconsiderate folk and that they were to scour the floors until they shown their reflections. There was to be no traces of blood that could be tracked least it muck up the rest of the complex.

Carth managed to locate one of the abandoned apartments the janitor had hinted at. Stumbling in he dropped Ravensong onto one of the beds, dropped the gear pack and went back to the doors to seal it before he stumbled out of sheer exhaustion to the only other bunk in the place just opposite of Ravensong's. If he could just rest his eyes for a moment…just a moment, then he'd see to the wounded scout.

'_Never leave a wounded soldier down, I don't care how tired you are, how out of hope you think you are. A downed soldier is a liability a healing one is an asset. When you're down in alien territory, worse yet behind enemy lines you need all hands, even the wounded. You push past your own exhaustion soldier and take care of those in your squad. The squad is your life. If you can't handle it get the hell out of command. Get the hell out of the Unit. We do not need useless Hutt-spawn slag quitters clogging up the military. YOU HEAR ME_!'

"Sir, yes sir," Carth muttered to the darkened room.

The lecture had been from a former mentor, a man trusted like no other, a man…gone now. Still the words were true. Carth forced his eyes open, forced his mind to awaken. Ravensong had taken a blow to the head, he didn't even know what other injures she had sustained prior the crash and she had taken the brunt of the blown out computer terminal inside the pod and the Force knew what else.

Rolling to his side Onasi pushed off the bunk towards his wounded companion. Blood had crusted upon her forehead, mattered her black hair and stained her once white tunic. He had been out longer than he thought for the blood to have already congealed in the wounds. '_Oh don't you die on me now,'_ Carth prayed.

Gingerly he removed the black tac-vest from her body and dropped it to the floor, it clanged as it hit indicate she had obviously stuffed its many pockets with found supplies. Next came her shirt which didn't come off so easily. It had 'welded' itself to her body by infusing its fibers into her once open now scabbed over wounds. He would have to peel it off of her body. "Thank the gods you're out cold, because this is going to hurt like a son-of-a-kath-hound."

Carefully so as not to do her more injury, he peeled the tunic off of her. But no matter how careful he was, Carth could not avoid reopening the wounds. Without the proper medical facilities he would have to make do with what the scarce apartment offered. Using one of the accordion bowls from the survival kit, Carth filled it with water and used one of the swabs from the medical kit to clean and sterilize the now bleeding lacerations and burn marks – both those sustained from her battles on the _Endar Spire_ and the crash landing.

"Sorry but modesty is not something we can afford now." He had to remove the sports bra she wore to get to the wounds under her breasts. He didn't even have to distract himself from the perfect proportionate beauty of their shape or how they fitted his hand completely, his mind was utterly focused on saving her life to think of the sensuality he had before him.

Turning her over he gasped in awe. A lattice work of barely visible scar tissue marred her perfect back, along her spine and down her legs. "What the hell happened to you? You look like you took an ion cannon point blank in the back or tangled with a rabid rancor. How in the bloody hell did you even survive that?!"

Of course she gave no answer. Whatever happened to her she had been Force healed or the marks would have been red, puckered and ugly as they were the scarring almost seemed like tribal. Onasi had seen more than his fair share of battle scares and knew this was no tribal tradition that marked Ravensong's back. She had seen hard-core battle. Onasi had seen Force healing, had even been a patient of a Force Healer during the Mandalorian Wars to know this young woman had been given the same treatment.

"Okay, if you survived whatever did that to you, you can survive this, besides it's a direct order. You will live, damn it."

The unconscious woman remained thus and gave him no response not even a grunt. As he was dressing her wounds, Carth took note of something not uncommon amongst military personal. Ravensong had a number of tattoos. Not a number exactly, though she had three rather highly detailed and rather large tats. One was of a Nabooan tusked panther. Her mouth was open showing an impressive display of teeth and fangs. The artist had cleverly made it look as though the scares that marred Ravensong's back had been made by the beast. Another elaborate tattoo was that of a Hoth ice dragon. Its wings outstretched in mid-flight, its tale cured along her left buttock and hip bone. Its face was turned to a three-quarters view; its mouth like the feline was open so it could belch out jets of ionic ice-fire up Ravensong's spine very near the clawed feet of the panther. Both tattoos seem to be designed to cover up a wealth of scarring that came from both shrapnel and blaster burns.

The other tattoo was of a Nagai hawk-bat on her left bicep. The raptor was screeching coming in for a kill, its talons outstretched to catch it's pray unawares. No doubt this was a familiar tattoo marking her to belong to a certain clan of the Nagai. Onasi was surprised to see that one for it marked her being ranked as a Nagai Blade. Again this tat seemed to be covering a scar that looked a lot like a lightsaber wound. Had a Sith or a Jedi put it there?

Carth looked at the bat-hawk again. Nagai? She looked Human, rather than the pallid and pointed eared Knives. Carth always thought the Nagai looked more like animated vampiric elves in the holovids he used to watch as a boy then anything living. A Nagai? It would explain her dexterity and affinity for blades over blasters and how she was able to do some of the moves she had seen over the holo-cameras. The Nagai were always swift on their feet and quicker still with a blade. It was why some called the race "Knives." Most Nagai warriors carried a plethora of blades about their person. Ravensong had only six. A short sword, a vibroblade and what looked like a prototype vibrosword. The forth was a Nagai stiletto dagger that had fit along an Echani gantlet she had been wearing. The last two were twin honor blades that no doubt were of her clan as they bore the same hawk-bat design on the hilts.

She didn't carry the normally albino corpse-pale skin tone of the Nagai but a more flushed appearance of a Corellian Human. Her ears were tapped into points she could hide them if she kept her hair either down or in the lose pony tail she he had seen her wear. Her windswept up-raised eyebrows could be easily overlooked. Her eyes were not black or grey as the Nagai but a deep midnight blue. It did happen though extremely rare in their kind. Her hair however was the jet-black common amongst the Nagai. The slight body build could be explained as a factor of her tenaciously demanding athletic workouts, though no doubt it was to her Nagai blood. Most would think her Human, a factor Ravensong no doubt took advantage of. Sentients would find her exotic but not know why. It was as if she was on the very edge of being wild. That made her unpredictable in Onasi's books and it was something he was going to watch in his new companion if she survived that is.

Onasi drew in a satisfied sigh; at least the young woman was stabilized now. How long it was going to last only the Force knew. He turned away from her, looking longingly at the tempting bed in the opposite corner. But however desirable it was to simply crash Carth could not ignore the grime coating him, he felt as if every pore in his body was oozing the stink of smoke, sweat and blood, most of the latter being Ravensong's. How she survived with so much blood lost was a mystery to the commander. No sense looking a gift tauntaun in the mouth, so Carth just accepted it as a part of her excellent physical condoning. It was plainly obvious Ravensong took care of her body.

Carth wrinkled his nose as he caught a whiff of his jacket when as he shirked it off. The rest of his clothing and those of Ravensong's were just as offensive to the nose. There would be time enough to clean them up after Onasi took his own shower. Going into the apartments head he spotted a sonic shower. That was fine by him, sonic showers were standard on any military vessel and he was used to them. He knew others detested the use preferring hydro showers but he wasn't about to complain. At least it wasn't a bath. How he hated the idea of sitting in one's own dirt trying to get clean. It was disgusting and unhygienic. Now sonic showers … they vibrated the grime, sweat and stink down past layers of pores. It made you feel clean.

Once he finished Onasi decided to throw all their clothing including their undergarments into the stall and hit the cycle to run a second time. Great thing about sonic cleansing it didn't leave you or your cloths sopping wet. He'd have to make sure to redress Ravensong in hers lest she wake and jump to the wrong conclusion.

Exhaustion tugged at the commander demanding to be answered. After he double checked the security on the door to apartment, Onasi at last allowed himself to surrender to Morpheus' warm embrace.

SWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSW

_Gray clouds, black swirling mists spiralled in and out of the mindscape. _

_This is death!_

_Blood swathed her face as war paint. _

_Remember Death so you recognize it when it comes again. _

_Blood._

_Shadows. Streaming down like rain like pumas from volcano. Blood dripping into pools about her feet. _

_Mask…this is death…blood. Shadow…this is life. Taste the acrid flavour upon your tongue, saver it. Know it. Feel it. Give it. Receive it. Blood death. Blood life. Remember!_

_A world gone._

_Shadows consume it. Blood spurts out from an open vein but not from a body but from a planet. _

_Thump. Thump thump do you know its staccato beat? Under skin river, under world river. Blood. Shades. Shadows. Golden rays. Not a sun. Yellow burning. Sentinel. Red. Blood. Blaze. Clash!_

_Thump thump thump. Underskin river underworld river life. Death. Shadows eating worlds. _

_You will do as I ask, as I need. My beautiful General. Others...bonded. Will answer. Call the shadow. Blood…see it. Know it. It is the only way. Trust. Mystblade…._

_She will turn on us, you must kill her!_

_Never! Red blade, wild sweep, blood, cry of pain. You will not harm her. I free her. Now you will always remember who is the master. _

_Burning_

_Hacking._

_Biting._

_Thump thump thump. Underskin river. Underworld river. Life…death._

SWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSW

Carth Onasi watched as Ravensong moaned, tossing in her dream haunted coma.

"Wake up, Ravensong, it's a nightmare…come on wake up."

The only sound she made was a mewling sound as if she was a wee little girl not a full grown woman.

Cath opened one of the medpacks took out one of the sponges to soak up water so he might stimulate her mouth to suckle upon the wetness so she would at least not become dehydrated. On Telos doctors would not see a patient unless they were paid in full up-front. He suspected it was the same here on Taris. With so few credits he could never afford a kolto treatment for this wounded soldier. They would have to make do with the scant few supplies they had. Fortunately Ravensong had a scout's prepaid cred–stick he could use in the Czerka synthesizer for food.

Yes apartments came with standard with refreshers, coolers and synthesizers but you had to pay a standard month's fee for the latter's use. Without an account or rather one he wanted traced Carth almost gave up hope on using it until he rummaged in Ravensong's tac-vest and found the prepaid stick. All scouts carried one if not more to use in order to keep their trails all that more difficult to trace. Fortunately hers had a hefty sum already allowanced. They could live a month rather comfortably if needs be. Granted it could not be used for materials and gear but at least they wouldn't starve or have to resort to the MRE's in the survival kits.

Carth attempted to get a clear vegetable-soy broth down her throat but that only resulted in near chocking her to death. So he stuck to simply getting her to suckle water from the sponges.

Onasi would be lying if he said the torpor didn't frighten him. In truth he was terrified she would never waken. The head wound must have been far more serious than he thought. He only had forty credits on him. Of course in his accounts he had several thousand credits but that was a bit moot now. Yes he might have been able to use Ravensong's prepaid cred-stick but there was not enough in it to cover a visit from a doctor. A house call alone cost nearly six hounded credits; add to that the treatment…which could not be covered. Kolto cost well over a thousand and that was about what she had in the stick. Onasi reasoned might be able to get more medical kits, and stimulants to keep her alive from the one of the shops around the Upper City.

SWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSW

_Burning_

_Hacking._

_Biting._

_Thump thump thump. Underskin river. Underworld river. Life…death._

_The One. The Elder. _

_Thump. Thump thump do you know its staccato beat? Under skin river, under world river. Blood. Shades. Shadows. Golden rays. Not a sun. Yellow burning. Sentinel. Red. Blood. Blaze. Clash!_

_Snap—hiss lightsaber. Hunted!_

_Beauty. Rage. Anger. _

_Blood _

_Explosions. _

_Remember who you are. _

_Raven with yellow eyes. A face painted in blood. _

_Flurry fight. Blades clash yellow, red. SHE was here. Calling, wanting, hating, loving. _

_Yellow eyes Raven. Revan. Blood. Blood. Red, yellow. She …they sent HER! Hunting. Calling. Hating. Loving. Blood mask. This is death. Remember it so you may recognize it when it comes again. Know…feel, remember. Snap-hiss-yellow…red. Clash!_

SWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSW

Carth watched Ravensong once more she seemed to slip out of unconsciousness only to fall back into it. Whatever pledged her dreams were hard, brutal and terrifying. It terrified him at the thought she was going to be trapped in this endlessness and never truly waken.

Sitting down with a bowl of nerf stew he replicated from the synthesizer and poured over Ravensong's service record.

**Skye Ravensong **

**Biographical information**

Homeworld: Deralia

Birth: (redacted)

**Physical Description**:

Race: Nagai

Gender: Female

Eye color: blue

Hair color: black

Blood Type: A –

Distinctive markings: 3 Tattoos: Nabooan tusked panther, Hoth Ice dragon both covering upper and lower back, Nagai-clan marking: hawk-bat wrapping left bicep.

Extensive scarring from plasma, blaster and ion burns, lightsaber scarring, as well as laceration scarring due to shrapnel caused by a downed fighter behind enemy lines.

Family: Parents deceased, no siblings

No religious affiliation

Political Affiliation: Loyalist to the Galactic Republic

Position: Scout. Republic Military: Elite Commando: Special Ops

Rank: 1st Lieutenant

Special Training: Close combat specialist unarmed level: 3

Close combat specialist melee: level: 3

Marksmanship small arms. Marksmanship rifles.

Survival Training level: 3

Computer slicing

Demolitions

Tech-specialist

One-man-fighter pilot,

Multilingual: Natural polyglot. Speaks several alien dialects with natural affinity

Languages include: Galactic Basic, Nagaian, Catharese, Twi'leki, Huttese, Durese, Taftian, Mando'a, Shyriiwook, droid-speak, Selkatha, Gamorrese, Rodese…

Deraila? That was beyond the Outer Rim territories. Of course the Nagai hailed from beyond the Outer Rim territories so it was possible she came from Deraila though it would be next to impossible to trace. Onasi hit on Elite Commando…no wonder she was highly skilled. Even the most the raw recruit in SF was a better soldier than many high ranked officers in the regular branches of the Republic military. A first lieutenant wasn't quite a full grade lieutenant but it was not necessarily a recruit either. So why the deception? Bastlia and the other Jedi seemed to think her a mere recruit as did Ensign Ulgo. It could be a reference to her newly minted status in SpecOps. It was one of many questions Onasi wanted answered.

Carth scanned over the numerous alien languages the woman spoke. It seemed to him she spoke almost every alien language he had ever heard of and several he had not. How did she learn not only to understand but _speak_ Shyriiwook!? Onasi couldn't even understand the grunts and growls of a Wookiee let alone mimic them into anything resembling a conversation. Hell the woman didn't even need a sonic translator to understand the bleeps and whirls of an astrodroid or any other droid for that matter. Granted a protocol droid spoke over six million forms of communications, but Ravensong spoke well over thirty which was phenomenal for a sentient. He would put it down to an implant in her cranium that gave her such abilities, but that wasn't the case. She had a natural talent for linguistics. He knew some Jedi who possess the same talent, but Ravensong was no Jedi.

Why did the Jedi Council want her specifically? Was it her…or her talents? Wasn't there amongst their number one equally talented? Padawan Bastila Shan had taken a very keen interest in her… What did they see in her that he was missing? Jedi…

He looked down at the diminutive figure. Was she….did she have a connection to the Force perhaps? Too old for training but too connected to the Force to ignore, so she is recruited from her previous post and appointed a position on the _Endar Spire_ roster? Because none of it was adding up.

Looking at the baby-faced woman made him feel as old as that ancient janitor scouring the corridors he had met earlier. Each of his thirty-eight years became a decade… a century. Humans lived to be about hundred and fifty if not a bit longer, so why should being in his late thirties seem so very ancient? A simple question with an equally simple answer, this woman was twenty-five and already accomplished much. The number of languages alone was something quite astonishing.

He looked up from the data-PADD watching the young woman once more. She was beautiful, make no mistake. Obviously talented and skilled. Add that to what he had seen of her in action on the _Endar Spire_: she was a quick and decisive thinker. A person he could use, but was she loyal? Or would she betray him as had so many in the past? Onasi made a snap decision not to risk any sort of entangled friendship; he'd keep her at an arm's length. He had a mission to do, and to accomplish his agenda he needed to use every tool at his disposal this included a 1st Lieutenant scout.

Ravensong seemed stable at the moment. She was still floating in and out of consciousness, plagued with nightmares. She mumbled in her sleep flipping from one language to another Carth couldn't make out much of what she was murmuring. Onasi figured the recent crash and explosion resurrected the trauma of whatever happened to her to have caused the scarring on her back. She must have spent some time in a kolto tank and rehab and a Jedi Healer to have made the recovery she had that allowed her to move about as she did on the _Endar Spire_.

Carth could have used a Healer now or even access to a kolto tank. Both options were out of the question. With little more he could do in the apartment Onasi decided he would walk the streets. He was no scout but Carth was confident in his own skills to ferret out basic Intel at least enough to start the formulating the foundations of a battle plan. He might even be able to find something out about Bastlia and any surviving soldiers from the flight from the _Endar Spire_.

Carth knew a few things about Taris, though not much more than what occurred just before the Mandalorian wars. He knew for instance that Taris had a seat in the Galactic Senate but would not last long. Captain Saul Karath commanded the Republic fleet that protected Taris. A fleet Carth had been for a short time apart of.

At some point prior to or during the Mandalorian Wars, the Jedi Order established a satellite training academy on Taris, ostensibly as a means of preparing its students for the more rigorous duties of patrolling the Outer Rim. Such was the mutually-beneficial relationship between the Jedi and the Tarisian authorities that the planetary constabulary sought in vain for even _more_ Jedi to be stationed there. The pressing threat of the Mandalorians however rendered this wish untenable what with all enclave graduates earmarked for front-line combat duty. It is presumed that the academy—under the leadership of headmaster Lucien Draay—was either destroyed or abandoned at some point during or after the year before the later Sith occupation.

After fugitive Padawan Zayne Carrick escaped from the Jedi Tower twice, massive rioting spilled out across the world, causing the Dantooine Enclave to withdraw the Jedi presence from Taris and for the Republic to abandon it before the Mandalorians. In 3,960 the Mandalorians were defeated they presumably abandoned the planet. Now in 3,959 the world was decaying rapidly with much of the once-magnificent metropolis having fallen into ruin and disrepair after over a single century of prosperity.

Though Taris held a Republic military presence, it had not been viewed with any military importance since the first Battle of Taris of course that was before the _Endar Spire_ had arrived in orbit. Everything had changed since then; the Jedi were gone, the Mandalorians long since gone, now the Sith were here in droves.

Finding anything more Carth had to do some legwork. There was a rumor that the swoop bikes had been invented here in the Machineville sometime ago. Lhosan Industries was a swoop bike-building corporation that employed many people in the Lower City on Taris. Its chairman was Jervo. After the Tarisian resource worlds of Jebble, Vanquo, Tarnith, and Suurja were threatened, Lhosan used its money to ensure Taris received a seat in the Galactic Senate, and ensured the formation of the Jebble-Vanquo-Tarnith line.

In response to the Padawan Massacre of Taris, the company announced their plan to move operations off-planet in hopes of finding a safer location. This caused the ruination of half the denizens of the Lower City, who entered into an orgy of destruction when the news broke out.

During the Siege of Taris, their building near Machineville was abandoned, and later occupied by basilisk war droids before being destroyed in the fighting. Of course now the old building is said to be inhabited by one of the swoop bike gangs. Ironic really if one gave any thought to it.

Ultimately, the Mandalorians were successful in their conquest of the planet; upon which, it must be noted, were a number of the last Cathar refugee-survivors from the Mandalorian genocide of their species. A resistance force, including the world's swoop gangs was established in the Lower City. The precise length of the Mandalorian occupation of Taris is as yet unknown, but it would eventually end with the retaking of the planet by the Jedi Knights under the command of General Revan, in 61. After the Mandalorian War, Carth knew very little of this back-water world or how much it had changed. It was no longer the thriving metropolis world it once was. Onasi had to find out as much as possible before he implemented any sort of action.

He had just passed the threshold of the apartment when he turned around and dashed back inside narrowly dodging the attention of a Grey-belly and two silver troopers intent on harassing the skulking inhabitants of the South Apartment complex.

"Kriffing brilliant Onasi! Just lead the Sith right here and give up why don't you." He scolded himself. In his hurry to get information, Onasi had forgotten to remove the ID patches from his uniform bomber jacket that marked not only that he was on board the _Endar Spire_ but also his name and an officer of the Republic Navy. What a rookie mistake! There was much more to being a scout than coxing people to talk and weeding out information from bantha poodoo, like the little easily forgotten details: dog tags, patches to name a few. The blood honor piping down his trouser legs could be overlooked, but not the id badges on a uniform.

Going out once more Carth tried to look as inconspicuous as possible so he might blend in with the milling populace of the Upper City. Hitting the local cantina was as far as Carth was concerned the best point to start. Disgruntled spacers would talk your ear off if you bought them ale. On a Sith occupied world no doubt were would be several spacers willing to talk. Even citizens might have a few words to share if he kept their tankards filled. The Upper City featured a cantina famous for its dueling ring owned by Ajuur the Hutt one of the few non-Humans allowed in the Upper City.

It took him two long days but Carth had managed to dig out a bit of information from protocol droids and a handful of cantina patrons but everyone was keeping their mouths closed and thoughts to themselves. Frankly Carth wasn't suited to fish intelligence out of reluctant people and he knew it. He was able to find a few things that would be an asset to the mission of search and rescue.

The Upper City was a beautiful area inhabited by rich and powerful people, dwelling in the highest reaches of the towering skyscrapers that dominated the planet's landscape. It had been the same when Onasi had been here during the Mandalorian Wars. A Sith military base was also established in the Upper City, and its roads were heavily patrolled by Sith Stormtroopers. Carth continued to keep his head down as not to gain their unwanted eyes.

Here, the privileged classes surrounded themselves with the trappings of prosperity, oblivious to the suffering and oppression of those forced to dwell far below them. Access to the Upper City was restricted to non-Humans, although notable non-Humans found in the Upper City included a Twi'lek droid merchant Janice Nall, Ajuur the Hutt, and a Rodian duelist named Twitch. There were a few other shops in walking distance and even a medical facility close by.

Carth new that before the Mandalorian war the Middle City was the most populated level of Taris. It contained the middle class and working citizens of the planet's Human population. After the second escape of fugitive Jedi Zayne Carrick, massive riots rocked the Middle City causing extensive damage. Now much of it was condemned. You couldn't even get access to from this part of the city. The Mandalorians had razed it to ruin and the Sith saw no purpose in reconstructing it.

The Lower City was home to the poor people not born into the privileged classes of society, and aliens were common there, as this was the only area where they were legally allowed to live. From what some of the grounded spacers mumbled the most popular lower city attraction if you wanted to go slumming was Javyar's Cantina run, of course, by Javyar. But getting access to the Lower City was difficult. It seemed only Sith could come and go as they pleased, or rather more likely as they were ordered to do so. If you didn't have authorization papers or were in the Sith military you were prohibited access. Harassing the guards stationed at the lift was a good way to get yourself blasted into dust. Even if you were able to get down into that cesspit, the place was overrun with swoop gang thugs that shoot you as soon as they clapped their eyes on you. It was better to stay in the Upper City.

The last 'city' of Taris, which was a very generous description of the squalor, was the Undercity. It was a village on the ground level beneath the immense skyscrapers of Taris. It was a dark, wild area inhabited by the Outcasts – people whose predecessors were banished from the city for their crimes. It was nothing more than a hive of scum and villainy, not to mention the rakghouls. Most of the Upper City citizens were thoroughly convinced that anyone sent down to the Undercity became one of these Humanoid zombie mutants. Which was why none of the Outcasts or their brood were ever allowed up even into the Lower city. No one wanted their filth around.

SWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSW

_Burning_

_Hacking._

_Biting._

_Thump thump thump. Underskin river. Underworld river. Life…death._

_Knows betrayal in the heart, has been betrayed and will betray in the end. Master, rescuer, liberator. _

_Thump. Thump thump do you know its staccato beat? Under skin river, under world river. Blood. Shades. Shadows. Golden rays. Not a sun. Yellow burning. Sentinel. Red. Blood. Blaze. Clash!_

_Snap-hiss light saber. Hunted!_

_Beauty. Rage. Anger. _

_Blood._

_Explosions. _

_Remember who you are. _

_Raven with yellow eyes. A face painted in blood. _

_Grey eyes stared out in resolution of what must be done. Porcelain features schooled into an expression resolve. The hand sure and steady as it raised a yellow bladed saber. This day would be the end…REVAN._

Skye pushed away from the explosion, pushed away from the dream, from the haze that followed such nightmares. Her head still pounded in tune with the beating of her heart. Swinging her legs over the edge of the bed she rubbed feeling back into her face by washing her hands over it. Her whole body was stiff and if not, a bit tender. Flexing and stretching seemed to loosen too-tight muscles but Skye could feel the onset of muscle cramps starting her in legs. Her mouth felt coated in bantha wool and she wasn't at all pleased with the scent of sweat clinging to her.

"Good to see you up instead of thrashing around in your sleep."

Skye whirled to face the inducing voice, her hand going for a weapon…that was not in reach. She always had a weapon in reach…why wasn't there a weapon in reach?

"You must have been having one hell of a nightmare," the voice continued. "I was beginning to wonder if you'd ever wake up."

Skye rubbed the sleep from her eyes and focused in the room's dim lighting for the owner of the voice. Male. Human about with about three days of facial hair shadowing face. He was wearing a Republic orange bomber jacket with no id badges.

"Pretty strange visions, yes."

"I'm not surprised. You were in and out of consciousness for a couple of days, so I imagine you're pretty confused about this. Try not to worry yourself at the moment."

Carth saw the confusion wash over the young woman's face, was it any wonder she didn't recall who he was after her torpor? "I'm Commander Carth Onasi one of the Republic soldiers from the _Endar Spire._ Do you remember? I was in the escape pod with you."

She gave a weak nod. "If you'd excuse me sir, I need to use the head and get cleaned up. I feel like bantha poodoo."

Onasi chuckled. "The refresher is just through there." He pointed to a small alcove half hidden by the poor lighting the apartment had to offer. Along the way she spotted her uniform folded upon the plexisteel table. Apparently Onasi had disrobed her to get to her wounds and then cleaned her uniform along with his, presumably in the apartment's sonic shower. Lifting tunic and trousers up she smiled. "Thank you."

Skye nodded her understanding with a fleeting smile of appreciation. Once inside the refresher she flexed her neck muscles feeling her vertebra pop and snap out of tension. She did the same with her back twisting one way then the other until her spine rippled and cracked causing her to sigh in contentment in the simple action of a full body stretch. Skye didn't even bother changing out of her undergarments when she stepped inside the sonic shower. Having a very limited wardrobe it was prudent to keep the clothing she did have clean until she could gain access to a materials synthesizer or a shop that actually sold clothing.

With her elbows flush against the wall, Skye braced herself leaning over allowing the sonic vibrations to course through her body. Blood, sweat, the stench of smoke washed away from her and still she didn't feel cleansed. The dreams, the nightmares had left their stain on her, making her spirit feel as soiled as her body had been. She hit the controls of the shower to run a second time after it finished its cycle this time on the highest setting. Oh she hated sonic showers, loathed them in fact but right now it was bliss.

The second shower had made her headache worse, her flesh feel as if it was charged with a force-pike but at least she felt more alive.

"Who are you?" she asked the cracked and stained mirror. Skye didn't know if she was speaking to the phantom menace of her nightmares or woman from her dreams or the woman starring back out at her from the dubiously polished reflected surface. Glancing down on the refresher's ledge she saw two travel toiletries-kits that was standard issue inside emergency packs. There would be non-scented soaps, toothpaste, mouthwash and non-scented deodorant in concentrated formulas and a miniature sized sonic tooth-brush as well as a comb. In survival situations hygiene was extremely important to stave off infections or other easily avoided heath issues by proper maintenance of the body. How idiotic was it to die of a mouth infection that brushing one's teeth could have cleared up?

Finished with her grooming Skye finally donned her clothing and headed back into the common room. The commander would no doubt fill her in on the events at hand and if there was a planned objective other than getting off this rock, wherever this rock was.

"Feel sentient again?" Onasi asked the young woman when she saw her.

"I will once I get a hold of some caffa." She answered easily then added belatedly, "Sir."

"We'll have to forego ranks right now, if we want to stay under radar of the Sith."

"Sith?" Skye asked from the alcove of the Czerka synthesizer. She noted in the account slot was one of her open cred-sticks. She didn't begrudge Onasi from pilfering though her gear; she would have done the same if the positions were reversed. She ordered up a bit of toast with plum jam and butter, a cup of caffa and a glass of ice water She should probably eat more but Skye reasoned she might not be able to keep anything heavier than toast down on such an empty stomach. She also forced herself to eat slowly and not gorge lest she become ill.

Carth decided to join her in a small meal. He hadn't realized how hungry he was until she watched her nibble on the bit of toast. "We're in abandoned apartment on the planet of Taris."

"Taris? The Outer-Rim's version of Coruscant, isn't it?"

"If it went Sith-slum, yes. A lot has changed since the war with the Mandalorians and the Jedi left. Its entire landmass is covered in buildings, though most should be or are condemned. The Upper City is where the elite of the planet lives and is pretty safe at least for us. However the farther you go down the worse it gets. The Lower City is filled with swoop gangs that are in the middle of a bloody war for control and the Undercity is even worse. The Undercity is home to mutant creatures called rakghouls. All in all not a very pretty picture."

"Coruscant gone slum, indeed." Ravensong caught onto something else Onasi had said. "Sith controlled? How is that we're not stuffed into some detentions center somewhere?"

"You were banged up pretty bad when our escape pod crashed, but luckily I wasn't severely insured. I was able to drag you away from the crash in all the confusion, and I stumbled onto this abandoned apartment. By the time the Sith arrived on the scene we were long gone."

"I guess I owe you my life. Thanks."

"You don't have to thank me. I'd never abandoned anyone on a mission and I am not about to now. Besides I need your help." Cath was almost defensive that it might have been assumed he would leave one of his troops behind. Well she wasn't exactly his trooper but she was stationed on the _Endar Spire_. That made her a part of his team.

She flashed the man an amused grin. '_Typical, Fleet. Get all ruffled if you thank them, all ruffled if you don't acknowledge their efforts_.'

"Taris is under Sith control, and their fleet is orbiting the planet. They've declared martial law and a planet-wide quarantine. But I've been in worse situations."

"Ditto. Nothing like a little 'nearly impossible' mission before you even finished your first cup of caffa." She lifted her cup to indicate it was only half filled.

Carth chose to ignore her comment. He wanted to know more about her than what he read about. "I've seen on your service record that you understand a remarkable number of alien languages."

Skye shrugged. "Natural linguist. So what?" Why were his questions sounding like an interrogation? It was as if she had done something wrong in the line of duty and was being reprimanded for being a polyglot.

"That's pretty rare for a raw recruit."

He almost flinched when he saw the fire in her eyes. The only other woman he could rile that quickly was he late wife and she never put up with his emotional outbursts. "I'm not exactly raw and not necessarily a recruit. I might be a decade younger than you, but I've been a scout for the Republic for a number of years. True, I am fairly new in the ranks of Special Ops but I am not some spindling wide-eyed recruit fresh from the apron strings of the Academy either. I was merely recruited on the behest of the Jedi Order."

Carth knew he had started out on the wrong foot. He couldn't even reprimand her for not deferring to his superior rank. Had he not just said there can be no ranks between them if they wanted to keep their cover as grounded spacers? Just like his late wife, Ravensong let him have it with both barrels of a blaster. Had rank been in the equation the answer he got would have been far different. Apparently she adapted well to 'roles' she was to play.

"I was just thinking that it should come in handy while we're stranded here on an alien world." He said trying to appease her bristled defenses.

"No way of contacting the Republic to apprise them of our situation?" Ravensong decided to let go of her anger. There was really no point in hanging on to it, besides Onasi wasn't the first to think of her as raw because of the youthfulness in her features. She was simply tired of it.

Carth shook his head no. "There was a distress signal sent SOP when the escape pods were launched. But there's no way the Republic will be able to get anyone through the Sith blockade to help us. If we're going to find Bastila and get off this planet, we can't rely on anybody but ourselves. I believe Bastila was on one of the escape pods that are rumored to have crashed in the Undercity. For the sake of the Republic war effort, we have to try to find her."

"Bastila? Trask had said she was the CO of the mission but not really a commanding officer, simply in charge of the mission."

"That smack to your head did more damage than I thought." Worry lines etched his face. Maybe he should have tried to make out a deal with a local doctor. There was no doubt Ravensong had been suffering from a concussion. It was amazing there wasn't more head trauma or even death as a result of it. "Bastila's a Jedi. She was with the strike team that killed Darth Revan, Malak's Sith master. Bastila's the key to the whole republic war effort. She has a talent called Battle Mediation that allows her to affect the outcome of whole battles. The Sith must have found out she was on the _Endar Spire_ and set an ambush for us in this system. We must find her before the Sith do and pray they already don't have their mitts on her."

"How can any one person, even a Jedi, be so important?" Skye frowned.

"Bastila is no ordinary Jedi. Like I said she had this gift the Jedi call Battle Meditation. Bastila can booster the efforts of an entire army through the Force. She can immerse her allies with confidence and make her enemies lose their will to fight and often times that is all it takes to tip the balance in battle. But there are limits to what she can do. From what I understand of her ability it requires great concentrations and focus to maintain her Battle Meditation. The attack on the _Endar Spire_ happened so fast she probably didn't even have a chance to use her power. I guess she barely got out alive and is trapped just as we are."

"Wait, you were in the escape pod bay. Don't you know? Didn't you send her pod off?"

"Yes I did. I know she got off the ship before it went down, but what I don't know if she is alive. You, yourself weren't in great shape, she might not be either. Even if she is uninjured, the whole planet is under quarantine. No ships can land or take off. So if Bastila is going to escape she is going to need our help and we will probably need hers."

"How do you even know Bastila is still alive?"

"I don't. But she is young and she had a powerful command of the Force. We survived the crash landing, so I'm willing to bet she may have too. Besides what's the alternative? I mean if she's dead then there is no one who can stop Malak and his Sith from wiping out the Republic. I rather operate on the assumption she is alive."

'_If Bastila is a Jedi she can probably look after herself_.' For some reason Ravensong kept the next thought to herself. She knew the young Jedi would more than likely resent any help from the mere 'mundane' if she were in trouble.

"Bastila is going to need our help. Many of Darth Malak's followers have marshaled the Dark Side of the Force and the Sith have already killed more than their share of Jedi in the wars. I doubt anyone is looking specifically for us anymore; we're not important. But if we're careful we can move about the planet without attracting notice; a luxury Bastila won't have. She is going to have half the Sith fleet looking for her. They know how vital she is to the war effort."

'_So much pressure on young shoulders…I only hope she can cope.'_ "Any idea where we should start looking for Bastila?" Ravensong waited for an answer as she started to strap on the leather utility belt and the several sheaths of small knives and her sword which was strapped to her back.

To this Carth nodded. "While you were out, I did some scouting around. There are reports of downed escape pods that crashed in the Undercity. That's probably a good place to start. But the Undercity is a dangerous place we don't wasn't to go in there unprepared. We won't do Bastila any good going in and getting ourselves killed."

"Death is highly overrated," Skye said offhandedly which awarded her a very curious look for Onasi. A look Ravensong ignored. "The sooner we start looking for Bastila the sooner we'll find her. Let's go."

"Good idea. We can use this abandoned apartment as a base and we can probably get some equipment and supplies in the Upper City. Just remember to keep a low profile…" He was about to remind her to remove the ID patches on her jacket when he witnessed they had already been removed while he was talking to her. "I've heard some grim stories about the Dark Jedi interrogation techniques. They say the Force can do terrible things to a mind. It can wipe away your memories – destroy your very identity!"

Ravensong shuddered inwardly. To undergo such torment was a thought beyond baring. It was amazing how the Force could twist someone into performing such perverse act. How someone could twist the Force to do such things…better to die than to have everything you are, ripped…or rather raped from your mind.

Carth's voice came into her mind like the buzzing of a gnat. "I figure if we don't do anything stupid we should be okay. I mean they are looking for Bastila not a couple of grunts like us," he chuckled.

"If you don't mind me saying you have to watch the way you walk and the way you stand, Onasi. It screams military. And the only military here are the Sith and you are not Sith. They will know you're Republic and simply open fire. You have to at least look like you're a disgruntled spacer, merc or smuggler and not career military. Your steps are heavy like you're carrying a great weight upon your shoulders, make it work to your advantage rather than give you up to the enemy."

"Good catch Ravensong."

She nodded.

"So how do you escape notice behind enemy lines?" he asked.

"Fit in. Depends upon the circumstances, really. With non-hostiles I make them think I am a spacer. With more of the ruff crowds you look like a leather clad frosty bitch with lots of attitude no one crosses if they ever want to breed again. Sometimes you are a pazaak player just looking for a good game."

Carth smirked, "I might be able to pull off a few of those but frosty-bitch might be a bit of a stretch."

Ravensong burst out laughing. "Yeah that five-o'clock shadow will give you dead away unless you're going for the she-Wookiee." She giggled again. "So how about the brooding silent type?"

"Now that I can pull off. You know how to do your job Ravensong, I'm willing to follow your lead on this. I'm smart enough to know this will take finesse, stealth and a quick mind not brawn. I am at home aboard a starship, in the chair of command even, but cloak and dagger business…I'm out of my game. A good commander knows when to defer."

"You're giving me command of this mission?"

"For now. Any other command decisions we'll confer in private, but for now it's an order to play-act as spacers. I can play act the silent brooding-guy, you do the talking."

"Understood," Skye smiled. "Then we should go see what we can dig up at the local cantina."

"Tried that, I didn't get much."

"Yes well did you flirt with the locals or the regulars?"

"Did I WHAT?"

"Exactly. A sweet demure smile can open a lot of doors that normally would be guarded. I'm not suggesting fracking them, just a bit of sugar," she winked. "Another tactic is to play the cut-throat gambler. Kicking your boots up and with a cigar in your mouth, quaffing Tarisian ale with a foul mouth and playing a hand of pazaak also works to get folks to talk to you. A sultry dance with a babe can also get you places."

"Wait are you suggesting that I dance…"

"Nope. Me. There is nothing you men like more than to watch two chicks dance as if they were making love. Plus said woman might want to share a few secretes of her own."

Carth just stared at her.

"What did you expect scouting was? Just slipping through terrain trying to find the best route for the troops to march lest they walk into a landmine field, a nest of mynocks or a krayt dragon's lair or sarlac pit? We do more than locate the best hyperspace course to take, or is that all you Fleet-boys think we do? It's a bit more to scouting than that. And sometimes you have to play a lot of angles to meet the objective you were ordered to do. You _ordered _me to find Bastila. That is my objective, so I will play what angles I have to, to meet it. You also ordered me to take point and lead, you can't balk because some of the tactics are not as straight forward as shooting a blaster."

"You're right. I'm sorry. And you're right about the other thing, Ravensong. I know little how scouts do their jobs. Or what you have to go through to get the objective done."

Skye simply shrugged. "I'm sure there is more to you fleet-boys than flying hulking starships too."

Carth couldn't help it he let out a great belly laugh. "Touché."

Two days ago Carth had stepped out of the apartment and had managed by the skin of his teeth to avoid the notice of a Sith patrol. Now the three were back and intent on hassling a couple of Duros. The same black haired Grey-belly yet this time he had four droids with him and two Silver-suits.

"All of you alien scum, all of you up against the walls, this is a raid!" Grey-belly barked.

'This is preposterous!' one of the gutsier Duros rebuked the Sith officer. 'You patrolled this area just yesterday! You Sith keep bothering us. Just leave…' He never spoke his final words. Gray-belly fired his blaster point blank in to the Duros' stomach. He was dead before he hit the titled floor of the hallway.

"This is how we Sith deal with smart-mouthed aliens. Now the rest of you up against the wall before I lose my temper again!" Smug as the newly minted officer was he paused in mid-triad when he spotted Ravensong and Onasi. He was quick to note their hands were on their blasters. To be more accurate the male's was on a blaster, the female however had already unsheathed her vibrosword. "What's this, Humans hiding out with aliens?"

Ravensong turned to Carth the look of astonishment on her face. "You're an alien! How come you never told me? You said you were a scruffy looking nerf-herder!"

"Sorry, s_ister_, slipped my mind." Carth answered back.

"You're the Republic fugitives!" One of the troopers declared pointing to Carth's jacket.

"Attack!" Grey-belly shouted.

"If you insist," Skye smirked.

Several things happened at once:

Instantly the box of droid bodyguards surrounding the Gray-belly disbursed their crackling electro-staffs and charged both Human and Duros.

Skye darted into the fray, dodging past one trooper and a droid to the Gray-belly. She jumped, used his shoulder as a lunching platform she got more lift, spun her sword in her hand so it would come straight down like the talons of a hawk-bat and plunged it deep into the joint between neck and shoulder. The officer stumbled down both from the momentum of the blow and the fact that life had been sliced quiet literally from his body.

While Ravensong was in the air, Carth took out one droid with a precision shot in the head. Its photosensors blew and the body warbled but did not give up the charge. Carth fired again and again into its chassis. With a small internal explosion it careened into another droid taking them both out.

Ravensong landed, turning her fall into a roll. That roll carried her sword though a crisp arc that severed the leg of one of the troopers. Another sweeping arc planted the blade into the man's heart.

The terrified Duros, having seen his friend gunned down, opened up his small blaster tearing shredded holes into the remaining droid. It clanged to the floor in two smoking sparking pieces. Even then the Duros continued firing, his fear having taken over reason.

Carth felt his body being flung back by a terrified female twi'lek trying to avoid getting in the cross fire. Fortunately her crashing into him saved his life. The blaster fire meant to for him scorched the side of the facing wall exactly at the same height as where his head had been. Carth sat up just as the trooper was taking aim for a second shot.

Both blasters fired; one missed its mark.

The trooper fell face down with a blaster hole where his lungs should be, a bleeding ditch were once he had an intact spine indicated it wasn't only a blaster shot to the chest that felled him. Carth looked up to see Ravensong had struck behind even has he had attacked from the fount. The woman was now using what clean bit there was of Grey-belly's uniform to wipe the blood from the blade of her vibrosword before she slid it home in the scabbard.

Droid bits, four bodies – five counting the first Duros - blood, scorch marks and bits of body parts that didn't merit mention littered the floor and walls. Carth gave a thought to the old janitor; he'd sure have a mucky mess to clean up now. He was irate with the smudges of blood Onasi had tracked in three days ago; he wasn't going to be exactly happy about this.

'Poor Ixgil. He should never have talked back to those Sith.' The surviving Duros said in his native tongue, looking at the corpse of his companion. 'Thank you for helping us Human.'

Skye chose not to point out that she was Nagai. Better if this bigoted world believed her Human rather than her true nature.

'This isn't the first time the Sith came hunting us but hopefully it will be the last.'

'_I doubt it.'_ Ravensong did not voice the thought. She slipped into Durese as she spoke so fluidly Carth thought it might have been her native language, though he knew the contrary to be true. 'Glad we could help, but won't someone come searching for this patrol?'

The Duros was clearly shaken not only be the events that had just happened, but that a _Human_ spoke to him in his own language rather than gibber in Basic. 'Don't worry about the bodies. I'll make it look like they were killed elsewhere, that should throw the Sith off the trail. With any luck they won't bother us for a while. Thanks again Human, and as I said don't worry about the bodies I will take care of them for you. It is the least I can do.'

As she had with the bodies aboard the _Endar Spire_, Skye went through the pockets of the junior officer and took the belts from the troopers. She handed them to Carth. One she placed with its holster along her hip, the other in the gear bag they carried. There was no doubt shops and even people from the Invisible Market were willing to purchase any extra gear they picked up for a few extra creds.

"So much for the low profile," Carth commented as they started to walk in the opposite direction of the skirmish.

"You believe we should have allowed the Sith to terrorize the locals and carry out executions on a whim?"

"Of course not, still it might cost us some anonymity."

"Apathy is death." Ravensong muttered more under breath than aloud though Onasi did catch it.

"That's almost insubordination."

"Would be, but we're role-playing spacers, spacers don't have to watch their speech. Besides which you ordered me to behave accordingly to that role." She reminded him once more. She had a gut feeling she have to continue to remind him until they found the Jedi.

Carth smirked, she had him there. "True."

"We are going to have to get you another jacket along with all the other supplies we need for a foraging into the Undercity."

"What's wrong with my jacket? I like it."

"It's orange."

"Of course. I happen to like orange."

"Republic colors," Skye answered. "How do you think that junior gray-belly was able to tag us so easily? No spacer would wear Republic orange, especially not on a Sith controlled world."

Carth stared at her. "You've got a point."

As they were still inside the apartment complex, Skye made a tactical decision about their survival. There other points about being a scout that nudged more on the scoundrel side of things from a legal point of view but a necessity. Such things included petty-theft, lying, sabotage and computer slicing and even in extreme cases because only a scout in Special Ops could…assassination.

Carth couldn't fathom Ravensong's actions, watching her slice open a door and slip into an apartment. "What are you doing?"

"Would you relax? If we are going to survive, find our missing Jedi and get off this rock we are going to have to bend a few ethics about theft. Karmic-ly we or I will pay it back."

"Karmic payback?"

"Karmic pay-it-forward then if you want to see it that way. For every tiny misdeed I have to do to achieve my objective I always make sure to pay-it-forward tenfold. I don't make a habit of it; I'm not a scoundrel but right now our needs are greater than theirs. We have to find a Jedi so she can save the Republic. If you don't want to be party to a little B and E, I'll collect you once I've finished."

"I suppose it's true that old saying: 'There are three things you don't want to see made, laws, sausages and scouts performing their duty.'" Carth said. "No, I'll stick by your side, just don't expect me to like it or condone it."

"You don't have to. I don't like it much either to be honest."

They hit four other apartments before they came to one with a terrified family in it. Skye apologized and backed out muttering she got lost and confused in the ring. Another two enemy apartments, before they came around to their own once more. The bodies just outside their door had been moved save for the droid bits which were now being scavenged by a green-fleshed Twi'lek male. Apparently the Duros moved quickly, no doubt with aid. Even the maintenance droids were on the move scrubbing the floors free of blood and detritus.

Skye looked at the only door she hadn't sliced, the one next door to theirs. At first it appeared as if the studio apartment was empty. Even the gear bag on the floor near the door was empty.

"Who are you?" a woman's voice shrilled it was more fear that gave an edge to her voice than command.

Carth gave Skye a pointed look.

"I apologize. I was just investigating the area. I'm Skye Ravensong. The guy behind me is Carth." Skye said calmly just as she had with the family that were obviously shaken from the gunfight they had to have heard. She had deliberately pronounced Carth's name differently

"That…is no excuse. You can't just go around barging into people's apartments because you're curious." The woman was visibly trembling.

"You are right…Miss…"

"Dia." For some strange reason Dia felt herself relaxing in the presence of this young woman. "At least you're more polite than that pig Holden."

Skye took another step forward, her voice retaining the claiming tones one might use to chase away night-terrors from a child's dreams. "Holden, who's that?"

"Just one of Davik's men who can't keep his hands to himself. But all he got for his trouble was a nasty scar form my vibroblade. Too bad I'm still paying the price."

Her voice still soothing, Ravensong continued to work her magic. "What do you mean?"

"I don't want to talk about it. I have enough trouble as it is." Dia's shoulders slumped tired from her stress, she even allowed Sky to escort her to edge of the bed to sit down. Skye sat beside her. "Besides I don't even know if I can trust you."

Carth watched this intently, he too wondered if he could trust this young woman.

"Miss Dia, you can trust me." Calm, soothing like lullaby Skye's was a voice sweet to the ears. "Maybe I can help. Besides I owe you for 'barging' in."

Dia couldn't help but chuckle at the persistence of this Skye Ravensong. "Well I suppose you seem like an alright sort." Dia patted Skye's hand. "When I was a gel I did a few things like snooping around old apartments once or twice. I can forgive that. Holden…" she sighed and for a moment her nerve broke and she nearly cried upon this stranger's kindness to her. "When I cut Holden it made him back off. But it also embarrassed him in front of his friends. Holden is a spiteful little Hutt-slug. We went and put a bounty on my head for what I did! This is why I'm hiding here."

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

Dia shook her graying dark locks. "I doubt it. Holden is one of Davik's men. When you work for the local crime lord, the authorities tend to turn a blind eye. I'm afraid this is between me and Holden now."

"I can speak to Holden for you."

"You can try. I guess he usually hangs out at the Cantina in the Lower City. It probably won't do any good. Holden's used to getting his own way. That's one of the fringe benefits of being a goon for Davik. Working for the crime lord lets you get way with things. Still I appreciate the offer, Skye Ravensong."

"Don't give up hope yet Dia. I'll take my leave now."

Dia once more patted the younger woman's hand. "Good-bye and good luck. I hope you can talk some sense into Holden."

Once outside the door and back into the hall Carth threw a speculative look to his companion. "And what did that just accomplish? Other than commit ourselves to talking sense into some peon with wandering hands?"

Skye smirked. "Peon is right. What did that bit in there accomplish? Do you not have ears to hear? We accomplished quite a lot. Taris has a powerful crime lord that the Sith turn a blind eye to. Why? His peons get away with crimes from the local authorities. The Sith ARE the local authorities. Are they ordered to keep a respectable distance from any malfeasances Davik's thugs commit because of Davik's higher connections, which he surely has? Only we don't know who just yet. Or are the thugs beneath the contempt of the Sith and they don't care if the 'surplus populations' wipe each other out, or both?

"You don't get the title of crime lord without having your fingers in a lot of pies and that creates a lot of resentful citizens. We can use this. If anyone knows about the crash landing in the Undercity it's going to be this Davik character. He might even have squirreled away a few things or 'someone' before the Sith got there. Goons move quickly when their lord barks at them because they don't want to lose their privileged 'fringe benefits.' Another thing we learned is the name of one of those thugs is Holden, might be fairly high up in the chain of Davik's crew if he is accustomed to getting his own way. Or if not high up-a trusted position that is highly rewarded.

"We also learned the high probability that the Lower City cantina has a bounty office though not run by Davik's people or Holden won't have had to go through the bounty office. Bounty offices have bounty hunters and they might brag on a bounty they nabbed. If they got to Bastila they will brag about it. If there is a bounty issued on Bastila by the '_local authorities'_ that bounty office will know about it. The bounty office will also be useful to get a few creds for some legit bounties and perhaps lift dumb-ass bounties like the one on Dia, which comes back to the whole karmic-force paying it forward bit."

"You got all that from that tear-soaked conversation?" Carth was a bit gobbstopped.

"You didn't?" Skye chuckled. "I did get a bit more. We will find a lot of shuttas and sleemos in the Lower City cantina if this Holden is any representation of the clientele. It tells me that the Upper City plays host to a higher standard of citizenship. Davik and some of his higher captains might wander its floors but not a peon like Holden. It tells me Holden is not as much as a big-wig he might delusionally think himself to be. So he's going to have a lot of attitude and strut what little power he does have, as we heard with his interaction with Dia. He lost face in front of his friends who are people also apart of Davik's crew. Holden put the bounty on her head because if Davik found out he was bested by a mere slip of a woman he may no doubt chastise Holden harshly for it."

"No wonder they pay you the big creds."

"Actually it varies. Sometimes we even get hazard pay. Scouting isn't for the family-sentient. You just have to learn to listen and use quite a bit of deductive reasoning."

Near the exit Skye saw a kiosk that had all the markings of an Invisible Marketer. It was operated by a sentient named Larrim. The green-skinned twi'lek had told them about the high value of personal energy shields and the weapons race to break through them. Because some were so effective against blaster fire, troopers were once more trained in the art of melee combat. An energy shield, especially the high quality types like those made by the Echani, could stop blaster fire but not the kinetic energy of a bladed weapon or even a fist or kicks of martial artists. His prices seemed to bit high, making Skye wait until they came to a more legit establishment before she committed herself to the purchases of illegal energy shielding or other supplies the man carried.

They had made it out into the city streets by this time. Skye out of habit started to scan the area with a scout's trained eye. She saw wandering protocol droids, merchants and citizens going from one building hub to another. Overhead, air cars zoomed to and fro. Silver-suited Sith troopers marched two by two carrying heavy blaster carbines. And every one of them was Human. It was so strange to see such segregation before. Granted, Skye had come across xenophobic peoples from other planets, the Wookiees were a prime example, but such bigotry was rife here on Taris, Skye could almost feel it coursing through her with a life of its own.

"I'd like to know you a bit more about you Carth," Skye said suddenly as they walked the streets. "I mean you read my service record so you know about me, so what about you?" She smiled disarmingly.

"Me?" he almost seemed puzzled by the request. "Well, I've been a star pilot for the Republic for years. I've seen more than my share of wars…" His voice became soft gravel. "I fought in the Mandalorian War before all this started. But with all that I've never experienced the anything like the slaughter these Sith animals can unleash. Not even the Mandalorians were that senseless."

"They have so little strategy," Skye agreed. "They are tyrannical brutes. Logically if they wanted to rule the galaxy one would keep key Republic infrastructure intact for the purposes of post-war rebuilding. Leave places of high commerce alone, those of high political influence alone as well; nothing hurts your cause more than to generate martyrs. It creates rebellion. These Sith are one dimensional with no forethought to their objectives. A brutal megalomaniac is horrendous, a brutal short sighted idiotic one is even worse."

Carth nodded his agreement, "My home world was one of the first planets to fall to Malak's fleet." The anger rose in Onasi as fire bubbling from the pit of his gut. "The Sith bombed it into space-dust and there was not a damn thing the Republic Fleet could do to stop them!"

Skye shifted her nearness to Carth to distance herself from his wildly gesturing hands least he inadvertently strike the side of her already bruised skull. He spoke with such festering fury Skye wondered if he was this violent by nature. And would he attempt to strike her in his rage by accident or purpose. "I'm sorry Carth, I didn't mean to upset you."

Onasi must have noticed the sudden distance between them that was more than physical. His late wife always told him he spoke too much with his hands and one day he was going to regrettably hit someone or something. She was always telling him to cool his jets, and calm down, he was too easily riled. Skye was now guarded, her eyes watching to see if he would lash out physically. It wasn't fear in her eyes but a warrior's leeriness.

"Don't worry about it. I just….must not be making much sense." He let out a long suffering sigh.

Looking at her, he found her dark blue eyes watching him. Inwardly he laughed dryly. Skye was a scout. Getting information was what she did. It was so second nature she probably couldn't _not_ do it. The dry laugh made it to the surface in the form of a rueful smile. "You probably mean well with your questions. I'm just not accustomed to talking about my past very much…at all actually."

She wasn't going to close the distance between them, but Carth could feel the guarded distance was slipping away.

"I'm a man used to action, in keeping my mind focused on the business at hand." There was no mistaking the veiled hint that he wanted to drop the subject. "So let's just do that. If you have more questions ask them later"

"Sure no problem."

Their attention was drawn away from conversation to a dog-legged bend in street leading to a shop that seemed to carry a cornucopia of equipment.

"Perfect," Skye said opening the door.

The young black Tarisian woman seemed to be a bit more of a reputable shopkeeper than Larrim had been. As soon as they walked in she was all smiles as most good shopkeepers were. "Well I haven't seen you two in here before. Allow me to introduce myself, I am Kelba Yurt. Welcome to the Equipment Emporium. You're looking to buy supplies? My shop has the largest stock in all of the Upper City. Best selection on the planet, whatever you need I've got it. Mostly."

That pulled Carth out of his sulking mood. "Mostly? What do you mean by that?"

"The Sith confiscated all my heavy weapons and impounded all my ships and swoop bikes but I still got a real nice selection if you're interested."

Skye nodded, "Let me see what you got for sale. We need some change of basic clothing most importantly undergarments, armor, MREs, possibly some upgradeable attachments to weapons both ranged and melee."

"I've got all of that. Just so you know the prices are final, no bargaining here. This isn't a swap meet okay? I only deal in top end stuff."

"Good enough, do you trade though? Skye removed a few of the carbine blasters and a few of the more quality weaponry she had recovered from the fallen back on the _Endar Spire._

"I trade if it's good quality, yes," Kelba looked over some of the armaments and noted the Sith issued weapons. "Looks like we're in business."

"Great." Skye turned her attention to the military surplus supplies and started to stack the necessary items of cloths like boxer shorts and socks as well as a few tee-shirts. All of them drab-gray of the Sith military but they would due, besides they were cheap. She found several packs of MREs. Meals-Ready-to-Eat may not be the tastiest thing, but it would save some credits in the long run. As she was looking through the other items in the shop she noticed Carth trying on several different styles of light armor.

There were several tables displaying varies of swords, vibroblades, other table had small to medium power blasters, rifles and a few carbines. Along the wall nested several suits of armor. Leaning up against the walls in brackets were pole-arms, staves, double bladed swords and the like. Under a locked transparent aluminum cases Kelba had landmines, and grenades.

"Say Kelba, do you know anything about those escape pods that crashed on Taris?" Skye asked casually.

Kelba whispered conspiratorially, "I had heard a couple of pods crashed in the Undercity. I bet they've been stripped clean by the Sith though—unless the swoop gangs or Davik's men got to them first."

Skye gave a pointed look to her counterpart who was still trying to decide on which suit of armor was going to replace his coveted orange jacket. "Swoop gangs?"

Kelba snarled. "I don't have anything good to say 'bout those swoop gangs. Zooming around on their swoop bikes terrorizing the Lower City like a bunch of animals! Things weren't so bad when Hidden Beks were running the show, but ever since the rise of the Black Vulkers gang, the Lower City has been nothing short of a war zone." Kelba started a closer inspection of the goods the young woman had brought in and cataloged a fair price against what the couple was purchasing. "The Sith haven't even bothered trying to maintain order down there. And there is a rumor that Davik's own people are having problems with the Black Vulkers now!"

The items Skye was collecting would more and make up for the cost of the weapons she had brought in for trade. So far Kelba was still in the black.

"What do you know of Davik?" Skye said so offhandedly that Kelba didn't hesitate to answer.

"Oh Davik's a _legitimate _businessman of you get my drift. Smuggling, slavery, extortion…" Kelba paused to lean in whispering in the pointed ear of the younger woman. "Word is he's a part of the Exchange. You know, the big intergalactic crime organization."

Carth piped up having overheard the shopkeeper. "I heard of the Exchange, bad organization to cross. If anyone has a blockade breaking ship however it's them."

Skye smirked; Onasi was finely catching onto the art of scouting.

Kelba shrugged. "I have to pay him a protection fee every month, but it's a fair price. Besides I get most of my inventory through Davik and his suppliers. I'm just smart enough not to ask where it came from." She gave a look to the weapons and gear Skye had managed to amass. "You understand?"

"Perfectly," Skye answered. She felt now was a good time to sacrifice a pawn in order to win the game. "Sounds like Davik is nothing but a petty crime lord."

Kelba almost bolted. "Careful where you say that! She hissed. "Davik's got spies and informants everywhere. Besides Davik is as much a part of Taris as the skyscrapers or swoop gangs."

It was a predictable response, but Skye had to know how informed this Davik was with the Sith occupation hampering his movements. Davik's connections to the Exchange could very well be the reason the Sith allowed a crime lord's henchmen like Holden run amok as they did. No doubt the Sith leaders thought to make use of the Exchange just as much as the Exchange would make use of them.

"How does Davik feel about the Sith?"

"Davik hates the Sith!" Kelba snorted incredulously that there was an implication to the contrary. "Uh hee, it's not smart to say bad things about the people in power if you get my meaning. I just wish the Sith would lift this quarantine, they are killing my business! I can't say I like them here in the Upper City, but it course be worse. And we're still a lot better off than the Lower City what with all the swoop gangs and all. I know you're new here. I bet you came to Taris on a short business trip and now you're stuck here." Her tone took on the soothing notes as if she was comforting a two-year-old. "But Taris isn't all that bad, as long as you stay out of the Lower City and don't even think about the Undercity!"

Skye picked up a permacrete detonator, Kelba was selling for fifty credits. "So what's the entertainment on Taris like anyway?"

"Oh the Upper City as a real nice cantina favored by the Tarisian nobles and it even hosts as dueling ring rung by Ajuur the Hutt. I go there as often as I can, especially when there are new rookies in the arena. I love to watch Ice and Twitch. They are my favorites. You can even wager on the matches. There are a few legit pazaak tables, a live band and even dancing. It's a good time out. Of course there are the shops that rent out holovids and such. The Sith closed down the Theater until further notice, wasn't a popular move for the actors though I heard they tried to open up a theater in the Lower City before the Black Vulkers destroyed it."

"Might have to check out that ring," Skye smirked. She always did enjoy a good sparring match. "So what's the damage?"

The total cost came to be about two thousand credits but with the deduction of the gear they brought in as well as the credits Skye lifted off of the dead on the _Endar Spire_ and Sith officer in their apartment complex they had more than enough left over. Though they were now down to three hundred credits but at least they were better prepared to travel the Undercity than before. They would need more medpacks, possibly antivenin epis and other items to explore the depths of Taris.

"It's been a pleasure dealing with you Ravensong," Kelba smiled warmly. "Come back anytime you need to stock up. If you need weapons and armor to crush an enemy or protection from someone else's, I've got it. Remember I've got the best selection in all of Taris."

"Thanks Kelba, I'm sure we'll be dealing in the future."

"Good day to you then."

SWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSW

"Why do you need something like that?" Carth asked Skye as she stowed the permacrete detonator away in one of the many pockets of her tac-vest when they were walking out of the emporium.

"Never know when you need a tiny explosions without doing too much structural damage to neighboring locals…say to blow open a blast door of an enemy compound. Key precision blasts without integral damage to other parts of the building where innocents might be"

"Ah…right." '_Innocents or a captive unconsciousness Jedi_.' "Good thinking."

A turn to the right of the emporium door led to a skyway leading to the Upper City cantina. "Time to play the game," Skye muttered softly with a hint of what could only be described as mischief.

The Upper City Cantina might cater to the nobility of Taris, but it smelled like any other cantina Skye had been in: thick with cigar smoke, various ales, liquors, loggers and whiskey. Of course it was a better class of smoke and drink but the smell was still the same. The chatter was the identical drone of white noise of any cantina. Rather than the talk of the newest model of kriffin' swoop bikes, engines, blasters and sports, it was the talk of trades, commerce, noble blood, the newest model of air speeders and sports.

As with most cantinas were there four wings off the central hub. One contained the live music, twi'lek dancers, and patrons, another pazaak den. The third wing was a more reserved bar and the fourth came periodic cheers, boos hisses and the stench of adrenalin. Obviously the last wing was the registration, betting cages and green room for the competitors entering dueling arena. The arena itself was directly below the cantina.

"We'll need more credits. You any good at pazaak?" Skye asked her companion.

"I've won my fair share of games," Carth answered. "What are you thinking, divide and conquer?"

"Yeah. Plus I want to scope out potential 'date-material' and a wingman only ruins the game."

"Wingman? I thought only men talked like that."

"What, you think we woman aren't on to how you men play? Please." Skye rolled her dark blue eyes. "Women operate on a separate level, especially woman who have no interest in, say, the male anatomy. To borrow a phrase, 'you get my drift?'"

Carth laughed fully. "Loud and clear sister…But…um can I watch?"

"Esshe! I knew you had to say something like that. Keep close but keep your distance."

Not wanting to get drunk as she canvassed the area, Skye resorted in drinking Tarisian pear cider. Sweet and only moderately alcoholic the drink would allow her to mingle freely with the patrons without drawing notice to herself if she abstained. Rule one of fitting in a crowed: don't draw attention to yourself by becoming noticeable. Rule two of trying to hide in a crowed of enemies: make enough noise as someone else to distract them from their true objective. Magicians did it all the time.

She parted from Carth leaving him to play pazaak as she wandered past a few off-duty Sith officers and several other patrons of Tarisian nobility. If they weren't mocking her armor they were rudely yelping at her or mistaking her for being a waitress. One went as far to tell she was going to tell her 'daddy' which caused Skye to laugh at her. The pampered little wanna-be princess stormed out of the bar leaving Sky in hysterics.

"What a kriffing shutta." Shaking her head Skye left the pampered wing for more desirable prospects.

'_Distraction from the truth so you can go unnoticed in the camp of your enemy'_ It was a well-known and well-practiced tactic of a scout – one that inspired Skye's next choice. No one was willing to talk to just another spacer…but if she had a bit of renown, now that would be a commodity worth banking.

Skye walked with a purpose in her stride into the wing reserved for Ajuur the Hutt's dueling circuit. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the blue glare of the wall mounted monitors to see the bulk of the Hutt reclining in the far back. He was not as opulent as some of the Hutts Skye had encountered. This one was still able to move on his own. The last one Skye had met was so massive he had to be moved along on an antigravity platform pulled along by a host of slaves.

There were several Humans and one Rodian as well with in the room. Several of the Humans had the look of gladiators about them: four men, one woman. The woman held herself apart from the others was more chilled than aloof. Her eyes caught Skye's holding the gaze for a moment of wills before Skye's attention was drawn away by another woman near Skye's flank.

"Oh I can't believe I didn't get tickets for this match! Now we'll have to watch it on the view screen," said a woman who was standing with a taller man near one of the screens.

"Who cares? It's Duncan and Gerlon fighting, it's not like we're missing anything good."

"Quiet the match is about to start!"

'_Duncan and Gerlon...and no excitement in the male…means they are low ranked on the gladiatorial totem pole.'_ Attracted by the spectator's discussion, Skye moved over to watch the match on one of the screens.

It had good reception, not as good as seeing the match live, but clear enough for Skye to study the opponents as they entered an ovular arena pit encircled by raised stadium seats. They were filled with die-hard fans of the arena though not necessarily of the contestants.

"Opening act…" Skye muttered to herself.

The cheering of the no doubt drunken crowed rose was two men both clad in light armor entered the arena pit at opposite ends.

"Ladies and gentlemen may I direct your attention to the dueling ring! The match is about to start! In this corner: looking to climb the ranks yet again is the ever persistent - DEADEYE DUNCAN! And in this corner is his challenger! A man so tough even a disfiguring injury couldn't end his career ha ha ha! I give you - GERLON TWO-FINGERS! Let the duel begin!"

At those words a gong sounded and both duelists drew blaster pistols. It would be more accurate to say Gerlon drew his blaster while Duncan managed to fumble and drop his own weapon. He stooped to pick it up and never rose to face Gerlon. Two-fingers fired a blast taking Duncan out in one hit. The older man fell face first upon the dirt covered floor of the arena. The crowd roared not with cheers but with laughter.

"And to nobody's great surprise Deadeye is down again. Don't worry folks; he's just unconscious as usual. And the winner is - GERLON TWO-FINGERS!"

'_Dead-eye? Shouldn't it be Dead-in-the-chest Duncan_?' Skye snorted her contempt for such an oaf. What was he still doing in the ring? Perhaps Ajuur the Hutt saw him as a commodity for humor rather than ability. '_Opening act indeed_.'

A wide mega-wattage smile spread across Skye's face as an idea began to form. She turned back to see the private duelist entrance open and both gladiators emerge. Duncan was clutching his chest but appeared to be undamaged.

'_He took a full blaster hit in the gut…and yet he appears only to be bruised. Pft I knew pit dueling was fake_.' Skye chuckled. '_Even better. I don't have to seriously maim anyone in the ring.' _

After talking to the Hutt, both men retreated to a corner. Duncan's wound was being treated while Gerlon moved to his own private area, presumably waiting for the next match.

By this time Carth had caught up to the young woman. He had won a few hands at pazaak with a man with a Catharian accent before he decided if he could find where Skye had gone off to. A lass named Christyaa had sauntered up to him wanting him to buy her expensive drink. Carth saw right thought the scam simply told her he wasn't interested. The woman wasn't put too put off as she turned her sights on a young noble man who postured over his pedigree.

Carth hadn't found Skye in the wing with the band or the more reclusive bar. That left the Sports bar. Carth spotted the young Nagai straight away. He was a little surprised to see her talking to a Hutt. At his approach he heard the Hutt give Skye the pseudonym "Mysterious Stranger."

Skye winced at the horrid name. "'Mysterious Stranger?' I like it," she lied.

'You will get a ten percent of the purse, no more. Don't worry about permanent damage; the ring has emitters that power down blasters and vibroblades. No has died yet. Not since they outlawed death matches,' Ajuur grunted at her in his own language. 'You'll face Dead-Eye Duncan first, rookie. Prove your worth. If you win this match you will be able to face the others.'

'Whatever. Just make it happen,' Skye grunted back in Huttese. The fact she hadn't used Basic shocked the Hutt a little to the point of laughing.

'I like you Nagai. You might actually be worth staying awake to watch. You're even attractive for a smooth-skin.'

'If you think I am going to dress up in a metal bikini think again, so cut the flattery you big slug.'

The Hutt's laughter only got louder. 'You've got courage talking to a Hutt like that little female. Let's see you back it up in the ring.'

Cath pulled Skye aside by yanking her arm. "We could use the credits Skye, but powered-down blasters and vibroblades? And nobody ever dies? How come I get the feeling they're trying to take you for a ride?"

"Then it will be a really short ride. Look I need my arm, you want to let go?"

"What? Oh. Sorry."

Skye gave Carth the same look she had given Ajuur moments a go. "Alright, I'm ready. My brother can be a bit pushy sometimes. He tends to forget his little sister can take care of herself." It was a veiled hint to Carth that she had everything under control as she maintained her cover. His yanking her around would certainly deaden all prospects latter if potential dates thought her unavailable because she was linked to an over-possessive, overbearing hairless Wookiee of a boyfriend.

Skye followed one of the arena attendants down into the pits enclave. Here she was to wait until the announcer introduced her. It wasn't fear that made Skye close her eyes as if devoted to vespers but rather a need to center herself for the upcoming battle. Dead-eye-Duncan might be a klutz but Skye never underestimated an opponent. Here she had time to focus her energy, her will on what she needed to do to win against her foe. She didn't even hear the chatter of the announcer's comments about Dead-Eye or herself. Instead her entire mind was locked on how to defeat her opponent.

Knowing that showmanship was half the battle in arena warfare Sky rose her double bladed Echani sword in the air in a figure eight spin. The crowd roared. The match was on. Dead-Eye took aim and fired his blaster.

Anticipating his moves, Skye bolted into a sprint for Dead-Eye. She vaulted into a jump, clapped her hand on Dead-Eye's own shoulder using it as a launching pad and bolted into the air, only to slam her powered down vibroblade down onto his shoulder. She heard it pop and crack, no doubt the bone was broken. Skye twisted into a back kick only finishing him off with a round house kick to the head.

Dead-eye Duncan didn't know what hit him. He was pretty sure it was a Basilisk War Droid but he didn't get the registration number.

"In a spectacular move The Mysterious Stranger wins! Dead-eye Duncan is out for the count. Hahhaha!" The announcer shouted over the speakers.

Skye turned from the unconscious body with nary a thought, the arena medics would tend to his shoulder and he wasn't dead. For show she gave a tiny bow to the arena which roared in applause.

For herself, Skye felt cheated. It had been no competition, hell she didn't even break out in a sweat. If this was the extent of Dead Eye Duncan's abilities perhaps he should think about retiring. Disgruntled by the match's end, Skye moved past the attendant back into Ajuur's "court."

'I always pay my debts,' The Hutt commented to Skye as she approached him. 'You managed to defeat Dead-Eye Duncan but there are few who can't. Your next opponent won't be so easily beaten.'

"We'll see. I'm ready to go now," Skye said.

Her candor caused the Hutt to laugh so hard his belly rolls jiggled making Skye think of a well-known Winterfest tale of a certain anthropomorphic personification of a toymaker in a blood-red furred suit. Though the Hutt was jolly enough he wasn't in the giving mood.

As she had before with Dead-Eye Duncan, Skye slipped into a meditative state blocking out the announcer's annoying speech about Gerlon Two-finger capabilities despite his disfiguring handicap and Skye's own ladder climbing through the ranks. Deep in her mind she pictured Gerlon as he was in the match with Dead-Eye. Fast draw with his off-hand because of the missing fingers on his right hand. One point two. It took him one point two seconds to draw and fire his weapon. That was what she had to work with. She had to get in close immediately. Even if Skye managed to shake off any blaster fire hitting her, it would slow her down. Using adrenaline and stamina boosters as well as strength would give her an added edge in closing that gapping distance. She slammed three of the stimulant-epis into her leg, the effects were immediate but they wouldn't last long. Skye knew she had to optimize her time to its full potential. A window of one point two seconds was now all the time in the world.

"…..The Mysterious Stranger!" as soon as Skye heard the announcer say her name she bolted form the alcove and didn't stop until she was nearly on top of Gerlon, he didn't have time to fire his blaster before she struck.

Gerlon had never seen anyone move so fast, not even Ice! The Mysterious Stranger was in her alcove then she was on him. She didn't even stop to take a bow! The bell had rung and she was there! How could she have moved so quickly!

As she had with previous enemies Skye used her opponent's shoulder to launch herself into the air, force and momentum did the rest. She came down slamming the side of her blade into his left shoulder, the bone broke with a loud pop just as it had with Dead-Eye.

Gerlon roared flinging the lithe she-hound off of him; his good arm was out of commission. The bitch had crippled him! But he wasn't out of the game yet, Gerlon had long practiced how to use a blade with a thumb and two fingers. From a sheath on the back of his belt, he pulled out a nineteen inch dagger. Pain blinded him; he took two wild swings before he felt a foot impact his chest.

Skye saw the dagger, one of Nagai make. It was an impressive weapon – it was both light and easily handled with only three digits. Skye shifted her stance which would fling her legs into a whirlwind kick and avoid the edge of his blade. Right foot to the chest, left to the head. Skye landed spinning to face her foe. Her sword rose over her head in a ready stance.

Gerlon climbed to his feet, roared and lunged for Skye. She spun away from his attack, slipped under his guard to sweep his leg. He slammed down hard on his back, wind gushing from his lungs.

Carth had ringside seats for this match and he was glad he did. Ravensong moved with such sublime beauty and speed. How could a non-Jedi have such focus, such control? It must have taken her years of martial training, probably since she could walk to have the level of skill she possessed. Onasi knew the Nagai were a warrior race. More than that though, their whole culture was centered on the martial arts and blades. Even their religion was centered on the blade. To the Knives, their honour blades carried a soul.

Unlike the Mandalorians who used cumbersome weapons – the bigger the better – the Nagai preferred light weapons for speed. They employed hands and feet in a martial dance of death. There were few none-Jedi who could match them. Only the Cathar warriors and the Echani were considered equal to the Nagai in close combat. Unless Humans trained all their lives or were Jedi, they didn't stand a chance against the skill of these warriors. Carth knew Ravensong wasn't one but she moved in perfect harmony just like the Jedi.

He kept picturing her as the tiny avian raptors on Telos. A single dart-bird with its sharp beak could do more damage to a person zipping in and out slicing their pray than a single claw swipe of a rancor. You could put down a rancor with a lot of effort. But it was hell to see, let alone stop the fleeting little dart-bird that was no bigger than four centimeters long and wide. Hawk-bat, dart-bird, Skye was both.

Gerlon tenaciously found his feet once more. His strength was leaving him as if it was bleeding out. He looked at the woman facing him, she wasn't anxious, even her breath was reined into control. Her eyes…unnerved him. They seemed to glow with an azure flame, she was a pure warrior not a simple gladiator. Worse yet she seemed to be playing with him as a tusked panther plays with her prey.

She twisted the double bladed sword over her head, Gerlon knew before it struck he was finished. The blade slammed with a diagonal slash from right to left, shattering his ribs. Gerlon crumpled bonelessly to the floor.

Skye bent down checking the pulse of Gerlon. He was out cold but alive. She rose, this time to acknowledge the roaring crowd. She took a slight bow before for disappearing into the contestants' prep-room.

Carth was there to meet her in the Hutt's "court." He wanted to congratulate her on her win, but she was already leaving for the prep-room once more. She had obviously been paid for her last match and had made arrangements to engage in another.

Looking around the room he saw the only other female gladiator move for the prep-room adjacent to the one Skye had disappeared into. He had enough time either get his seat or place a bet. He was an officer and a gentleman placating a bet on the outcome of the match seemed unethical to him, so the choice was easy. He took his seat in the stadium. Next to him was Kelba from the Emporium.

"Say, I didn't know your friend was a gladiator. She's good!" Kelba said smiling. "I decided to bet on her this time. The first two matches I didn't and lost. But I've seen her move. Mysterious Stranger could go pro. This should be a very good match, Ice is tough to beat. She's fast and deadly with her blasters. But seeing Mysterious Stranger move like she does I have no doubt she'll win. "

"I hope so. I think she should have rested longer between her bouts. She has two behind her and Ice is fresh." Carth stared down at the empty arena. He felt Skye was being foolish and arrogant fighting three matches within a two hour span. What was she doing? Was she testing herself or was she proving herself, her capabilities. Perhaps the comment of her being only a mere raw rookie struck her deeper than Carth had anticipated. So now Ravensong committed herself to the battle arena to prove the measure of her worth.

"Oh I know about that! It made the odds higher and the pay-off will be bigger if you get my drift." Kelba drew him back to the present. "Seven to one odds. Not a great payoff, but it will more than make up for my losses I took from the last two bouts when she wins."

"If she wins," Carth whispered to himself.

SWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSW

Once more Skye focused herself on the upcoming battle. Not having seen Ice fight as she had her last two competitors, Skye didn't have the advantage of knowing what to expect. She knew Ice was fast and deadly with a blaster: taking precise shots rather than random desperate sprays of bolts. A new strategy was in order. Not to mention this woman Ice had a chance to see Skye fight, twice.

The lofting over enemy shoulder move was out. At least as a first move. Skye drowned out the announcer's comment of ice water in the veins and steal on the bones. Her entire concentration was on the battle, to see it in her mind before it played out.

One concussion grenade lobbed, followed by an adhesive grenade and another concussion—rush in strike twice with the sword and dodge back out to hit with another concussion grenade and a flash grenade. The objective was to blind and immobilize the opposition. A cyrboan grenade to make it impossible for Ice to move with speed let alone retain the dexterity it took to use blasters with any amount of accuracy. Strike again with the sword, dodge away hit with another concussion grenade, followed by a volley of poison and plasma grenades. Never give Ice a full chance to pinpoint her mark.

SWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSW

Carth like everyone else in the audience expected the Mysterious Stranger to charge and leap into battle, slam her hand down upon her enemy to vault herself into the air and smash her sword down on her enemy's shoulder, breaking it. What they got was Sky bolting from the alcove lobbing two grenades simultaneously one concussion the other adhesive. Ice was unable to move and so disorientated she couldn't lift her blasters. Skye rushed in took two hits of her blade, dashed back out. But this time Ice shook off the effects of the concussion grenade and struck Skye with twin shots of her heavy blasters. Skye might have been out if she hadn't lobbed another volley of concussion grenades at Ice. The scout took the moment of Ice's confusion and mind fog to slam two epis of kolto into her leg before she darted into melee range.

Skye ran in, two more swipes of the blade, and rolled out only to throw another adhesive grenade before she rushed back in. Again Ice fired off several shots that took Skye down to near incapacitation, but the scout pressed on.

Skye lobbed yet another concussion grenade before she used her now patented launch off of the enemy's shoulder strike.

Ice was done and out.

The battle had been far more intense than Skye anticipated. She gave a slight theatrical bow to the crowd before disappearing into the left side prep-room. Only there did she let out a long suffering groan of pain and exhaustion. Her heart was racing from the natural adrenalin rush as well as the speed booster she had used. Her body shivered from the after effects. It would last a little while longer, long enough to take command of the court before she slumped again.

By the time Carth saw Skye reenter Ajuur's 'court' she had sauntered in and was speaking in growls to the Hutt. Carth knew that the posturing was mostly for show. No doubt she had self-administrated several emergency kolto injections prior her appearance so she might walk confidently in front of the fans and the Hutt. Presentations and showmanship was all a part of the game. Ice had done some serious damage to the scout.

Ice emerged moments later limping and clutching her side. She looked like she suffered broken ribs and a broken clavicle.

What Skye truly suffered, Carth could only hazarded a guess. No doubt there were internal injures done by the powered-down blasters. The kolto injections could only heal so much; she would need to see a healer very soon. She also needed a sonic shower. Blood, dirt and sweat clung to her like a second skin.

Skye knew, as anyone possessing brain cells would, that she would not be able to go into another match so soon. She needed to rest, heal and gather her strength before she faced the remaining two gladiators of the arena. One was a blades-master named Marl, the other an ambidextrous quick-draw blaster fighter everyone called Twitch. Skye being Nagai had more respect for and was more wary of the blades-master than the blaster fighter. Today was not the day to face either of them.

Several hundred credits the richer Skye left Ajuur's "court" for the cantina proper. Her walk was confident if not a little theatrical, but it drew the eyes of the patrons. Most of them were whispering about how quickly she had climbed the ladder of the battle arena circuit. Many of them simply happy the slug had found new blood to liven up the ring's betting pool. Having survived Ice the Mysterious Stranger had real potential. Some of the patrons wondered if she was one of the Hutt's ringers just to liven up the audience, the ratings, and of course the betting pools.

Some of the junior Sith officers wondered if they could get a pay bonus if they recruited the Mysterious Stranger into the ranks. It would be quite a coup for an enlisted shock trooper if they managed to recruit the skilled gladiator before any of the higher ranked officers.

One such sergeant of the infantry moved through the crowd up to the smaller woman. Her eyes had followed this raven-haired Nagai since she had first entered the cantina. She hadn't known who the woman was now and she doubted Mysterious Stranger was anything but a Hutt-given stage name. Still…there was something about her that hit Sarna as something familiar. She smiled feeling very confident that she knew what that "feeling" was. Mysterious Stranger was not a woman who trolled Boy's Town, despite their best efforts to buy her affections with drink or what they considered their best lines.

Sarna sauntered up to the dark haired woman. "I'd like to buy the woman who won me so many credits a drink if I may."

Skye gave the blonde a demure smile. "I'm a bit parched. I definitely could do with a drink."

"What's your pleasure?" Sarna asked.

Skye cupped her hand over the blonde's that held the glass, raised it to her lips and took a deep sip. The dark brown liquid slipped down her throat hitting her stomach, burning all the way. "This will be perfect." She sipped a seconded sip, her eyes watching the blonde's over the rim of the glass.

"My pleasure," Sarna whispered, finding her voice slightly huskier than its typical octave. She felt warmth hit her stomach that had absolutely nothing to do with the Tarisian ale she had been drinking. She ordered another glass from the barkeep, leaving her last with the Mysterious Stranger.

"So do you have a name or will I have to call you MS?"

"MS?" Skye quirked an eyebrow. "No I don't think so. Save that one for your buddies. Tell you what my Lady Sith, you tell me yours and you may have mine."

"You know I am a Sith and yet you still drink with me?" Sarna was a little taken aback, but not entirely in a bad way. Mostly she was extremely curious. "Most of the locals either start cursing us or back away."

"Not local," Skye said simply.

"A grounded spacer? You should be even angrier over the quarantine than the locals."

"I save my anger for the ring," Skye winked. "Besides I doubt it will last. Your military will need commerce if it wants to keep its base up and running, even if only allows a few frigates in and out. So I'll wait it out, get authorized to hit the hyperspace routes again and be on my way. In the meantime I can make a few credits in the ring…and enjoy the down time." Once more Skye fixed a flirtatious smile upon her face.

Blood seeped into Sarna's face at the veiled implication of down time.

"Besides I'm a courier on retainer, I get paid either way."

"What about him?" Sarna asked of the hovering male she had seen the Mysterious Stranger conversing with before the matches.

"Oh him?" Skye shrugged indifferently. "Co-pilot. Not good enough for Fleet so '_Mommy_' got him a gig with my employer and I got stuck with him in the second seat on my ship. Besides … he's not my type."

"Not good enough for the Fleet?"

"Hum." Skye nodded. "Always wanted to be a fly-boy but he can't handle the bigger ships and no good behind a fighter. He can't stay focused so he had to go commercial. Oh he talks big, snarls like an old toothless kath-hound and about as dangerous."

Sarna laughed. "Is that so?"

Skye smiled. "On…to names, do I call you LS, my Lady Sith or do I get a name?"

"Sarna."

"Skye."

"An ironic name given this planet," Sarna scoffed lightly.

"Isn't it?" Skye tried not to show her disgust at the Tarisian government's treatment of the inhabitants of the lower levels of the mega city. Coruscant too had multiple levels of city, and yes there was classism, but not to this extent. Any citizen in the lower levels of the Republic capital world was free to travel any of the other levels regardless of class, wealth or status save for the senatorial level which of course was reserved for only Republic senators and their staff as well as the Jedi.

Taris was a whole other card game. Here the classism left an acrid bitterness in the mouth that lingered long after. It was a trial not to show her inner distaste for such things, especially with the Sith expounding on the diversity and segregation, however Skye had committed herself to her task. And she would play the part well.

Carth sat back in one of the cantina's more private alcoves attempting to be discrete as he watched Ravensong play the other woman. From his play at pazaak he had learned the woman his companion was flirting with was Sith. He seethed inside that Ravensong was flawlessly fraternizing with the enemy. His natural predilection for mistrust raised a red flag before his judgmental eyes. He imagined Ravensong comparing notes with the Sith, telling them what she knew so far what the Republic didn't and the possibility that Bastila was alive and more likely either in the hands of Davik Kang or the swoop gangs.

As the woman laughed, his imagination worked overtime assuming they were laughing at him. Well they did look his way, hadn't they? Ravensong had flashed a knowing smirk, he was sure of it. A smirk that said: 'you're dead now Republic' insert typical bad-guy evil laugh, better yet a hag's cackle. There had to have been a spy abroad the Endar Spire, it's just far too covenant to have been this special ops officer who speaks most languages or at least understands them? One who is specializes in sniper, small range firearms and deadly in hand to hand combat as well as melee, nearly as good as Jedi? He smirked back at her if she was giving a false face, so could he.

Skye felt a bit unnerved the way Onasi kept staring at her, she attempted to signal him with a grin that conveyed she had the goods on the Sith. Apparently the message was received because he smirked back.

Sarna had opened up a little, just enough for Skye to feed her the necessary lines to gain the woman's temporary trust. "Well you have to let you hair down every so often."

"Exactly!" Sarna smiled as she touched the woman's soft face. She loved the feel of her skin against her fingers. Better still she loved the tapered ends of the Nagai's ears. "Some of my team are getting together for a little party tomorrow night. We're not even bothering to return back to base to check our uniforms. I mean what's the point we have to go on patrol in the morning anyway, Right?"

"Right," Skye smiled. "I hear you there sister. Done that myself on occasion, kept the gear close at hand so I can hop to work, or at least _look _as if I had even if I am a little late."

Sarna leaned on Skye snickering a little drunkenly. "That was our thoughts too. Roll out of bunks climb back into those damn silver armor chassis and go walk-about. Get caught by a superior and say 'But sir we've been on duty since the start of shift, had to take care of a problem over in the South apartments with all those uppity aliens ducking in and out, you know how it is."

Skye nodded pretending to sympathize.

"No offense on the alien bit, ehe…MS? I mean you're nearly Human, and pointed ears are so sexy."

"Back to MS is it?" Skye ordered another drink for Sarna while drinking sparkling water herself. Her implants were already healing a great deal of the trauma done to her by her three bouts and no doubt would distil the alcohol in the ale but she wanted to keep a clear head for the moment. Besides she didn't want Onasi questioning her motives when he told her about the party. "No offense taken. But ehe, mind if I drag the 'old kath hound' to the party? He might take offense if he doesn't get to play in the sandbox with the other kiddies. He'll go bawling to mommy and I lose my very sweet retainer.'

"Ewch, nothing like nobles pretending to be pirates to ruin the day. Yeah sure bring Mommy's Boy along. Does he like the ladies or does he fly stick?"

"Never gave it much thought," Skye said truthfully.

"Whatever his flavor there will be plenty of diversions at the party for a face like his."

Skye despite herself laughed, "Oh now I'd like to see that."

"Would you?" Sarna leaned in whispering huskily into Skye's ear. "Or would you like to see something a little more….risqué? Humm…" She flitted her eyebrow at the Nagai hoping to entice her.

Playing the game, Skye leaned forward and gnashed her teeth together growling low in her voice. "Oh I think your offer is far more…captivating. Until tomorrow night, Lady Sith," Skye anteed the play by kissing Saran fully on the lips, even going as far as to nip her lower lip, leaving her target swooning just like she wanted her to be. Or it could have been all the ale the Sith was drinking at this point it was hard to tell.

Carth watched Ravensong pull away from the Sith woman and head for the exit. She lingered long enough for Carth to get the signal that he was to follow her out. Once out in the streets, Skye filed her lungs with the night air. Despite its pollutants it was still cleaner that the filtered stink inside the Cantina.

No sooner had they left the bar they were ambushed near Kelba's Emporium by two Rodians and the noble woman that had mistaken Skye for a waitress.

"Oh for crying out loud!" Skye grumbled.

"Now you will know how to treat your social betters," The woman taunted smugly.

"Too bad I don't see any here," Skye retorted.

"This isn't going to end well," Carth said.

"Get them!" screeched the pampered Tarisian heiress.

The Rodians pulled out blasters; they fired almost immediately in a spray of wild shots.

"Down you go!" Carth barked out. Taking time to actually aim his blaster, striking one of the Rodians dead in the chest. They fell in a dull thud.

Skye darted in as she had with Gerlon, and as she had with the blaster fighter she used the Rodian's shoulder as a leverage spot to spring up into the air. But instead of slamming the backside of the blade into the shoulder to break it, she drove the blade deep into the joint of neck and shoulder, effectively decapitating the thug. The body went down in a wet slap; Skye rolled to her feet brought the sword to bear glaring at the astounded noble woman.

"Want some?"

"DADDY!" the heiress screamed and ran past the partition of the street proper and the enclosure of the emporium.

"Stupid shutta," Skye grumbled looking at the corpses figuratively on the Emporium's doorstep. "What is it with these people?"

"Noble by birth doesn't mean noble by sprint," Carth answered.

"She cost these two sentients their lives and for what? Her pride?"

"Why did she sick her goons on you anyway? Did she lose creds in the matches you fought?"

"Don't know. She was in the posh-bar at the cantina. She thought I was a waitress and demanded her drink. I told her I didn't know where her drink was and I didn't even work at the bar. Then she grumbled about telling her daddy on me and I just laughed at her asking if she was what five? Told her to get over herself."

"Bet that went over well." Carth amused.

Skye burned him with a look, "Yeah." She pointed to the two dead bodies. "Very well." Sighing she hoisted one of the bodies over her shoulder and took the head in her free arm.

"What are you doing?"

"Dead bodies can't be good for Kelba's business. I'm dumping them over the side of the street." She gestured with her head to one of the elevated gantries back towards the cantina.

"What if we're seen?"

"Tell'em they jumped us because they lost creds betting on the wrong person in the arena and attempted to get their money back the hard way," Skye reasoned. "For once bigotry will do us a favor. No one will ask because they are Rodians not Humans."

"You have a point."

Carth picked up the male he downed and like Skye moved towards the gantry. "Don't they deserve a better sendoff then this?"

"Yes." Skye would say no more as she tossed the body she carried over the railing along with the severed head. Both tumbled in free-fall for a moment before the shadows of the city streets below swallowed them up.

Carth tossed his own over, muttering an apology to the spirits of the slain. He caught Skye was moving a little more slowly than typical. He didn't think she had been hit by the Rodians' wild-fire but then again she had been in three matches in two hours and she wasn't completely healed from the crash. Whatever reserves she had been running on were taxed beyond limits to pay.

"Want to tell me what all that was about with you and that Sith in the cantina?" he said trying to change the subject. "You got _real_ chummy."

"No problem. Mind if the debrief is a walk-and-talk? I need to head to the med-center."

"Of course. From my previous scouting I found out from one of the protocol droids that there is a small clinic run by a Dr. Zelka Forn. I didn't go to him with you at first because, these outer rim doctors always want money first before they even see the patient let alone treat them. And I couldn't run the risk of him being one of the Sith."

Skye held her hands up, "No one is accusing you of maltreatment, Onasi. Right now I think we can risk it. All he will see now is the Mysterious Stranger, not a trapped Republic officer."

"So what went on in there?"

"Got us invited to a Sith party."

"What!"

"Got us invited to a Sith party. Junior officers only," Skye repeated.

"It's got to be a trap. Why would they invite us?"

"Sarna didn't invite _us_, per say she invited the Mysterious Stranger and her old kath hound tag-along."

Carth frowned. "Old kath hound tag-along?"

Skye shrugged and regretted the moment her shoulders were still aching from the pounding Ice had given her. "Yeah…hehe. I sorta had to make things up as I went along." She started to fill in him in on the whole conversation. By the time they reached the clinic Carth was beside himself laughing.

"What?" Skye attempted to play innocent. "Your face was scrunched up like a kath hound pup admit it." Skye mimicked the scowl on Carth's face since they had first started their foray on to the Tarisian streets of the Upper City.

"You are an odd woman. You know that?"

"I try."

She cut a glance to her traveling companion, something was eating at him. His brown eyes were filled with questions, and to tell the truth so was she.

"Carth?"

"Yes? What's on your mind?"

Skye smiled at the phrase as it was the exact sort of thing she was about to ask him. "Is this a good time to ask you some questions?"

"I'm all ears, Beautiful."

"Beautiful, isn't that a little inappropriate?"

"Is there something else you prefer I call you?"

"How about my name?"

"Don't get yourself in a twist over it, Gorgeous I didn't mean anything by it."

Skye smiled and rolled her eyes. She even snickered. Oh she's played this game before. Granted she preferred to play with women but camaraderie amongst the ranks helps tighten the unit. She had even endured little comments like that from males she tried to squeeze information from in the course of a mission. This time was no different. Only Carth Onasi was an ally.

"Now that I like, you can call me that."

"I might consider it. What are you going to call me in exchange?"

"Hum?" she put a finger to her chin mocking the act of thinking. "How about handsome thug?"

Carth bust out laughing so hard he had to hold his gut to keep form toppling over to the floor. Pedestrians gave them queer looks but continued on their errands. "I like the first part of it. How about the most handsome pilot in the galaxy? What do you think?"

Skye's expression soured, "I'd sooner kiss a Wookiee."

"Well then I guess 'Gorgeous' will have to do until them. With all kidding aside I bet you're not going to give up on those questions of yours. Are they really necessary?"

"Well yeah. I just would like to know you a little better." She said it in such a nonchalant way it disarmed her male companion.

"Oh well if it's an interrogation you want, why didn't you say so?"

Skye needed him to relax and not be so defensive so she played into a gambit. Rubbing her hands like an animated holocharacter for younglings she cackled "Soon all your secrets will be mine. But, um, keep your dirty laundry in the closet with any skeletons. Seriously, Carth this isn't an interrogation."

Carth had to admit she kept pulling the rug from under him with her easy joviality. It was difficult not to like her for that alone. No one had made him laugh as often as she had in a year let alone a day.

"No, I was just joking, though you do seem to be full of questions. It's rather refreshing to be honest. Let me ask you something first, though. I've been going through the battle on the _Endar Spire_ over and over in my head since we crashed. Some things don't add up for me. Maybe you could tell me what happened from your perspective."

Skye frowned. The first rule of siphoning information from your target, never yield the floor to them with their own questions. Make a deal but get what you want first. Every scout knew this. Damn it! Skye knew where this line of questioning would lead to and she didn't like it. He was her superior office and all masks aside he could simply order her to answer his question. Once more Onasi knew it to.

"I wasn't in the position to know what was going on really," She answered honestly.

"Neither was I to tell you the truth. I was aboard as an advisor for the most part. The battle began so fast. It's anyone's guess as to what really happened. We lost the ship and a lot of good people."

"Trask." Skye gave a thought to the bristle haired ensign that gave his life for hers.

"And for what? On the hope that the Jedi powers would save us, somehow? Not that Bastila had much of an opportunity to act. We didn't choose that battle anyway, it got forced on us. Hell I'm just surprised that anyone of us are alive to talk about it."

Skye had to agree there.

Carth stared at her directly. "Come to think about it, it's more of a surprise that _you_ happened to be here isn't it; just what is your position with the Republic anyway?" His voice arched in rising anger.

"You read my files and I told you, I am a scout. I was recruited into the fleet for my skills, if you must know. You just saw what some of those are and you read more of them in my personal records."

"Well that makes sense, Ravensong. It seems a bit strange that someone who was a last minute addition to the crew roster was one of the survivors."

Skye spun around glaring at him, with cold hard eyes. What exactly was he accusing her of? Was he blaming her for what happened? Surly not! "What's so odd about me being added to the crew at the last minute?"

"You were the only one." Carth glared back. To him her sudden addition was a bit ripe with treachery. He was beginning to like her too much to fall into that spiral of being betrayed. She spoke of her skills and yes he had seen them at work. That Sith woman was eating out of the palm of her hand readily enough. Ravensong would not work her charismatic magic in him. "Bastila's party was the one who requested your transfer."

"If you have problems with that then take it up with the Jedi Council on Coruscant, Onasi. I don't know why she requested my transfer any more than you do."

"That's just it. The Jedi requested numerous things when they came aboard."

'_Jedi do that_.' The response was unspoken.

"Hell they practically took over the ship as far as I could tell. Considering your connection to Bastila and the Jedi whether you know it or not your presence here seems a little convenient."

Skye stormed within. He was all but saying she was responsible for the attack. As if she had ordered the Sith ambush! Her eyes burned in blue ice-fire as the artic-dragons of Hoth. Her hands clasped into fists at her side least she strike this fool man. He was still after all her superior officer.

Carth was either ignoring the rage building in Ravensong or ignorant of it for he continued. "I am probably wrong and this is probably nothing. I know. I learned a long time ago not to take anything at face value. However I _hate_ surprises."

Skye's voice became was sharp as a vibroblade. "What do you mean surprises?"

"I mean I have come to expect the unexpected. Just to be safe."

"You DO know we are on the same side right?"

"Look it has nothing to do with you personally…"

"Oh it's personal to me old man. You were accusing me of—of what the drek I don't know. But I won't let you do it."

"I have my reasons for not trusting anyone. And NO, I am not going to discuss them with you, can we just move on to the important things?"

"First you accuse me in not so many words of being solely responsible for the Sith attack on the ship, then you snap at me for the Jedi's actions and their requests. Then you go on about something else being important? I will not be your punching bag…SIR!" Skye snarled.

"I didn't say any of that."

"No? Sure sounded like it to me."

"Skye can we just forget it? We're making a scene here."

Skye looked at the amount of pedestrians who were dragging their feet to see how this fight was to play out. A few Sith troopers were coming their way but they didn't seem to be in a rush to break up the fight.

"Kriff them all," Skye spat. "I answered you, you answer me!"

"All right! All right! You're the most damn persistent woman I have ever met!" Suddenly, as if all the heated ire in his blood had suddenly evaporated, Carth slumped his shoulders. "We'll talk about it later. Right now I think we should get going. Those troopers will be upon us in no time. It won't do Bastila any good if we're arrested for disorderly conduct in a public place."

"Fine. But this isn't over Onasi. Not by a long shot."

SWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSW

Skye was far tenser since the argument with Onasi, and now she was paying for it. The adrenaline rush of her bouts leaked away allowing her to feel the pains her implant hadn't managed to recover yet. Her whole body was tingling almost as she could feel the very current of Taris, the rage of the people coursing through her. Her anger with Carth fueled this sensation to the point Skye felt as she was rippling with lighting, with energy she had never known.

They walked through the double doors of the medical clinic only to be met by the balding, dark-skinned doctor. "I'm Dr. Zelka Forn. From the looks of you I'd say you're from off world. But I'll not have it said that Zelka Forn refused treatment just because his patient was an off-worlder. If you'll come this way I should be able to patch you up."

Skye smiled warmly was she followed the physician into a privacy cubical where she could disrobe to allow him access to her wounds "Thanks. I got the newer ones from the arena. The others are…a result of a forced landing."

She caught sight of a peculiar door at the far end of the clinic. It had captured her attention because of its lack of markings. Everything else in the clinic was clearly labeled, this was not. That made it stand out. Surely private office would have been less obvious than something trying to go unnoticed. To her it meant the good doctor had something to hide.

The physician nodded his understanding. "I can treat most any injury here, except for the rakghoul disease."

Ever inquisitive Skye asked, "What exactly is this rakghoul disease?"

"The rakghouls are horrible monsters that live in the Undercity, and spread their disease to the inhabitants of Taris. The rakghoul plague has afflicted Taris for centuries because of this. The Republic scientists were working on a cure at the military base, but then the Sith invaded. If there is a cure, then the Sith are probably stockpiling it for their soldiers who have been sent into the Undercity to look for those downed Republic space pods."

"We'll get it back for you, doctor!"

"What, no! No, no, no. I am merely trying to convince you to stay away from the Undercity, it's dangerous. Disease can fell the most skilled soldier," he warned. Yet he could see even his warning would not sway this young woman under his care. He didn't even know why mentioned all that he had to her, but it was too late to retract it now.

The look in her blue eyes reflected the need to help. As if she was programmed like a droid to aid those in desperate situations despite any personal danger she was faced with.

"You suffered a concussion recently, why wasn't this treated?"

"At the time we didn't have the credits." Skye said honestly.

Zelka frowned. "I'm not like other Outer Rim physicians young lady. I take my healer's oath seriously. 'First do no harm. Second aid those you can for yours is the duty to heal, ally or enemy, wealthy or poverty stricken, alien or your own species your duty is only to heal.' I take that very seriously. If my clients cannot pay, I will still heal them to the best of my abilities."

"That's rare for a physician even in the Core worlds. I thank you doctor," Carth said earnestly.

"Yeah, thank you very much." Skye was now even more convinced she had to get the rakghoul serum for this man. If he healed anyone who needed him, he was a beacon of light, one that must be preserved and aided. She became driven for it as much was she was driven to rescue Bastila.

Zelka tended the young woman's wounds noting that the abrasions and few lacerations from the arena and the obviously telltale signs of kolto injections that had healed most of the injuries she sustained from a crash landing were not the only ones she had suffered. Had he not known better, he would have accused the male of abuse. There was a clear wall of tension between them. A wall that sent his alarm bells ringing. He knew she was telling the truth about the arena, as he had treated her opponents earlier. Granted he was always tending Duncan. But it was rare to see Ice come in for medical aid. Still Zelka wanted to be sure the woman wasn't being mistreated by the older man she had walked in with. The old scares on her back told him she had suffered very heavy trauma, add that to the guilty expression carried in the man's eyes and it told a whole new story.

Leaning close Zelka whispered for the young woman's ears alone. "Listen, if you need treatment…or sanctuary you come here. He doesn't have to know."

"What?" Skye frowned. She looked to the silhouette of Carth on the other side on other privacy screen. "Oh…no it's not what you think. Honest. Those scars came from a previous crash. Little more than a year ago, my scout ship was shot down; the helm blew and nearly took me with it."

Zelka only nodded. The scaring could have come from such indeed, but he didn't like the way the male held himself. There was something in his eyes that told him he wouldn't hesitate to strike this beautiful young woman. He patted her hand, "Just remember what I told you, dear."

Skye nodded. "Doctor, do you know anything about those downed Republic pods?"

Zelka was almost defensive about to deny he knew anything at all. But he stopped before even the protest passed his lips. "Well you don't look like Sith spies, I suppose I can trust you." To this he said to Skye alone. He got the feeling she and her brooding companion had been on one of the pods that crashed. It was highly probably they were the survivors of the pod that crashed near the entrance to the South Side of the Upper City. If that were the case he suspected they were hoping to find other survivors as well.

"Come with me. This area is restricted but I think I can trust you." He tapped in a code in the security panel at the side of the unmarked door. The solidarity of the door looked like a blast door capable of withstanding a bombardment of blaster fire. It was something you found on a starship not inside a clinic of a third-world planet on the outer rim.

Inside the next room were seven cylindrical kolto tanks matching the three in the outer room. These however were filled with men and women form the _Endar Spire_.

Skye dashed up to one of them, the face she knew so well. "Oh the Blades!" she touched the glass of the tank. The Human woman inside was in her very early thirties. She held a refined beauty even by her race's standards. Her hair was golden blonde, cut short at the collar, though dampened by the gelatinous liquid it still looked like a thistle top.

"Major Carter…" Skye whispered sullenly.

"You know these soldiers?" asked Zelka, "Then that must mean you're Republic soldiers too!"

"What happened to these men and women?" asked Carth.

"Ever since the space battle overhead, people have been bringing in these soldiers. Most of them have injuries that are too severe, they won't last much longer. All I can do for them is make their last days as comfortable as possible."

Skye hadn't moved from her spot. She rested her head upon the glass allowing the tears to slide down her cheeks.

Carth shook the man's hand. "It's good to know that some of the men and women fell into compassionate hands. On behalf of the Republic I thank you."

"Just please don't tell anyone they are here. But it seems after their initial questioning the Sith have not returned."

"You're secret's safe with us, friend," Skye reassured the physician from her place at the major's tank. "Besides we're in need of secrecy ourselves."

"I understand," Zelka nodded, patting the young woman on the back. "Yours is just as safe with me."

Carth moved forward, his hand on Skye's shoulder to move her away but she violently pulled away from him. "Leave me to say goodbye would you?" She hissed.

"Um yeah sure," Carth stood back wordlessly watching the enigmatic woman. There were times when all he saw was strength, now he saw vulnerability, he saw her youth. She held such a hunted expression in her blue eyes. As if she was reliving every death she had ever seen upon the faces of those floating in the kolto tanks.

Skye moved to each of the cases touching each one in turn. He was too far back to hear what she was saying but it sounded like a prayer. Funny her record indicated she had no religious affiliation. Perhaps she simply wasn't an observant in the Nagai faith to be classified as such. But in the end most people call out to their deities if not their mothers. Perhaps seeing these soldiers was one of those times for Skye. Carth himself had sent a prayer to the Telosian Earth Goddess to see these good souls reached the other end of the River of Death into the Slumbering Fields of Everlasting Tranquility. Not that he actually believed it did any good but it was what one did in this circumstance.

He and the doctor both jumped when Ravensong threw back her head and roared. Just as suddenly she turned and walked out of the hidden alcove back into the clinic proper without uttering another sound.

"What the hell was that?" Carth uttered still startled. "I never knew they were that close…"

"Your friend, as you must surely know, is Nagai."

"Yeah so?"

"When a warrior dies in their culture, the survivors open the eyes of the dead in belief the dead will see the Shield Maidens come for them to take them Land of Heroes. When a Nagai warrior dies in honor, the remaining warriors roar the death cry to warn the Black Fleet that a true warrior is on the way to them. She gave them a great honor just now."

Carth looked at the back of Ravensong, suddenly her comment of roaring for Ulgo now made since. "I never knew that about her people."

"As a doctor, I made it a point to know the death rites of several species because sometimes you can't save them. Nagai believe once death takes over the body, the soul or as the Nagai call it the Ghost is gone. The body is nothing but a shell which is why they don't have elaborate funeral rites or necropolises. They tend to cremate the remains if possible, if not they simply jettison it into space or the more efficient way at hand to remove the carcass. Once the Ghost is gone from the body that is all it is to them: a carcass. They are not the only species to believe this. It's very common amongst the warrior races. The Echani and Cathar hold very similar beliefs. They all tend to believe in some kind of Great Hall or some sort of fleet of ships, sometimes they are combined. There the Ghosts of the brave will feast, drink, sing operas, recite ballades and poems of glory and honor, even heroic romances. They battle each other and enjoy their afterlife as slain heroes."

Carth looked away for a moment. Ravensong looked so Human for a moment he forgot she was actually Nagai. One of the warrior races of the Outer Rim. They weren't even apart of the Republic, but he had seen some of their kind serve as Republic scouts as conscripts. Nagai scouts were some of the best in the business; they were often recruited as military assassins with Special Ops because of their natural affinity with melee combat. Ravensong obviously was one of these Nagai conscripts. Was she recruited then by the Jedi to assassinate a military target, which they themselves could not because of their code? It was possible. If so, then who?

There were even Nagai Jedi. Hell, Revan had been one as had a few others Jedi Knights who served in the Mandalorian War. One of the top Jedi Generals was half Nagai who led the victory over Malachor V, though she was exiled from the Order after the war. With her gone, Revan dead, were the Jedi now thinking to take out Malak by using a Nagai assassin scout? Is that why the Jedi insisted that Ravensong be added at the last minute to the crew roster. Perhaps Ravensong didn't even know the full details of her mission until they had reached their final destination. That was a lot of ifs and maybes, and Carth wasn't about to let go of his suspicions yet. If possible, he was even more suspicious as he thought more about Ravensong's peculiar place in the Jedi Council's attentions. What did they want with her?

By the time Carth caught up to Ravensong she was speaking to one of the good doctor's assistants. A slimy piece of work named Krin, if his lapel badge was correct.

"I heard you speak with Zelka about the rakghoul serum. If you manage to get your hands on it, I can make it worth your while."

"What are you talking about?" her tone cool and reserved.

"Zelka wouldn't be able to pay a lot, I know someone who will pay a lot more. Davik Kang will be very interested."

"Davik Kang?" Ravensong played the ignorance card.

"What are you, an off-worlder? Everyone knows who Davik Kang is. He's the Exchange's boss here. Look get the serum and take it to a Hutt named Zax, he runs the Bounty Hunter's office on behalf of his de facto boss, Davik."

"Why would Davik care about the serum?"

"Because there is a lot of money to be had. Why do you think? All you have to do is bring whatever you find to Zax. I will get a finder's fee. It all works out."

"Yeah then only the rich will get the cure." Carth commented scornfully.

"Oh my heart bleeds. You're the Mysterious Stranger. I saw your fights. You went in not for the challenge but for the credits. This is a sure fire way to get a lot of 'em." Krin continued.

Skye frowned at the man's pandering to her reasons for the bouts. "What if I tell Zelka of your little plan?"

"I'll deny it. Who do you think he will believe?"

Skye looked over her shoulder to the physician steady at work at his desk with a stack of medical files. She had no doubt in her mind who he would believe. She also knew Kang had his hands in deep in every sort of business. He didn't own the good doctor but he could make it very difficult for the doctor's practice if Zelka went against him. Unfortunately taking the word of an off-worlder over one of Davik's crew would accomplish such a thing.

"Whatever. I think, I'll simply give the serum to the Zelka," Skye said in a tone not to be rebuked by the little medic sleaze. Even Carth took note of the menace in Skye's voice. Full of command, authority and deadly conviction.

"Just think about it," Krin suggested. He had sat through all three of the woman's fights. She was fast and deadly. Bad combination if directed at you. Something in her voice terrified him. "I promise you it will be well worth your while."

Skye turned her back on the medic, he was beneath her contempt. Back out on the streets she ignored Onasi as he caught up to her, neither one of them had anything to say to the other. Both grateful to Zelka for his care of their colleagues, both baleful over Krin's inhumanity and profiteering and both still on edge over the argument before they came to the clinic left little room for words to be shared.

Skye's path took her not back to their temporary headquarters but for the Northern area of the Upper City.

"Hey wrong way," Carth said.

"No."

"No?"

"No." the answer was delivered in frost. "I need to check out the apartment complex where the party is going to be held. That little heiress ran towards the northern area of the city. My guess it's going to be slightly more posh. Which means amped up security. Even if the security isn't that much higher than it is here in the south end, I need to know the lay out of the area before we go in. I need to know all exits, if there are patrol droids in the apartment complex or security monitors. If we are going to jack a few uniforms successfully I need to do my job."

"Ever the scout, I see," Carth smiled.

"As you are ever the soldier," came a flat retort.

SWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSW

The northern section of the city did have a slightly different air to it. Its layout was a mirror image to the south-end, so navigation was easy. Where Kelba's shop was in the south-end there was an industrial elevator, guarded by a Sith shock trooper in a silver uniform. Beyond this alcove where the cantina might have been lead to the Sith Military Base. There was an empty landing pad just off to the left of the gantry. The pedestrian traffic was light here. A few droids and what might have been civilian employees or soldiers out-of-uniform coming and going. Strangely enough there were very few troopers near the entrance.

That bothered Skye heavily. Why the light guard? Were the Sith so arrogant in their technology that they didn't bother with a heavy guard at the gates? Did they think the weight of the troops patrolling the streets would demoralize the populace that they allowed for this indiscretion of protection? Perhaps the bulk of the guards lay beyond the first gate, a ploy then to entice the 'lost Jedi' to attack and then bam the trap was closed? That was a more likely scenario. Still Skye would not trust the situation. She logged the layout of the base's entrance in her memory. No doubt the door itself was heavily encrypted and could not be sliced. It would take an astromech droid to slice into its systems and command-override the doors to open.

Further exploration led to the discovery of a droid shop owned and run by a female Twi'lek named Janis Nall. Skye smirked. Ask and you shall receive. As fortune would have it the proprietor had two quadruped astromech droids: one with a silver paint job the other red. It was the silver one that caught the scout's eye. It seemed a little more polished a little more sophisticated than its crimson counterpart. The only other droids Janis had were protocol droids of the same model of those wandering the streets. Those would be of little use, but an astromech droid now there was something worth having.

Unlike Kelba, Janis was high strung, nervous and suspicious of her customers. No doubt suspecting Ravensong and Onasi to be as bigoted as the hatemonger on the streets. Being a Twi'lek in the more posh neighborhood could not have been easy for her to have accomplished. Davik no doubt had her paying at least twice the protection fee Kelba was paying just to maintain her business.

"I'm interested in an astromech droid," Skye said.

'Oh astromechs are wondrous droids. Their uses are limitless,' Janis praised the units. She spoke in her own native tongue which didn't surprise Skye in the least. She had never met a Twi'lek to use Galactic Basic even if they understood it. After all Galactic Basic was the language of trade and commerce.

Before she could go into a whole commercial lecture of their uses and capabilities Janis found herself cut off but Ravensong directness. "I'd like to buy that tee-three unit."

'Oh I am sorry, but Tee-Three-En-One isn't for sale. He's is a special commission for Davik Kang. I just finished him two weeks ago, he is my best work." The woman smiled prideful as if she were speaking of her first born child rather than a droid. 'But Tee-Four-Cee-Two is for sale. He might not be as advanced with the special upgrades Mr. Kang wanted for Tee-Three-En-One but still very capable.'

"Alright fine, I'll take it."

'You will? Oh this is wonderful.' Janis was pleased. 'I'll remove the restraining bolt and give you a new one. Oh this is grand. I'm sure he will suit your needs perfectly.'

"One can only hope. What's the price?" Skye asked. Now knowing the T3 unit had special modifications done to it and specially commissioned by the Exchange boss, made her want the droid even more. To be truthful she wanted it more if only to deprive this Kang fellow of such a commodity.

'Because you're the Mysterious Stranger and I won several credits due to your matches I'll give you a discount. A hundred and fifty credits.'

Skye remained stoned faced as if playing a pazaak table, but the cheapness she would wager had little to do with the credentials as a gladiator in the ring than something wasn't quite right with the model. Still it only had to do a few slicing jobs not navigate a ship or hell even repair one.

"Done."

'Wonderful!' Janis beamed. 'Is there anything else you would be interested in? Armaments, armor, shields for the droid?'

"No just the unit. Thanks." Skye transferred the credits from her cred-chit into Janis account and the bill of ownership became hers.

Janis refitted the unit with a new restraining bolt given total control of the droid over to the Nagai scout. Tee-four bleeped, rolled out its bay and made to follow the woman out on to the streets. Skye and Carth only just passed the threshold of the shop when T4-C2's motivator popped, fizzed and blew. The unit became nothing more than slag.

"Son of a kath hound!" Skye snarled at the smoking ruin.

"At last I know the real reason that shutta of a tech wanted so little for this piece of slag," Carth grumbled. "It had nothing to do with your ring popularity."

Skye wanted to kick the droid but thought better of it. It might be scrap, but kicking durasteel was never a good idea unless one wanted to break the bones in the foot. "I'm getting my money back."

"Oh you're back. Change your mind on…"

"What exactly are you trying to pull?" Skye snapped. "That droid had a bad motivator! Look!"

Janis nervously moved beyond the customer service counter to the front of her shop. Passing the door she saw the molten remains of Tee-Four's motivator, the chaises was a black smoking mass that still popped and crackled with live wires.

'I thought I had fixed that problem.' Janise bemoaned her work on the droid. More so that her efforts to repair the faulty unit than any inconvenience she had given to her customers.

"I want my money back," Skye demanded, "now."

'I don't actually have to give your money back,' Janis tried to remain bold despite her fear. 'But I will because I like to keep my customers happy.'

"Not to mention you don't want to get a reputation for passing off shoddy work," Skye pointed out. "Just give my money back, and I will pretend it never happened."

'Done. No hard feelings?' Janise knew this could seriously hurt her business if the offworlders breathed a word of the incident especially to the Human Coalition. Despite Davik's protection, the mob mentally of the Human Collation would destroy her business if not snuff out her very life.

"No hard feelings," Skye said. If she was honest with herself she carried no ill will for the woman. That is to say once she got her money back. Oh it would have been easy to demand more for the trouble but what in the end what would she have accomplished but to make miserable a woman who was already in a precarious situation on a none-Human-hating world.

Janise moved back behind the counter, and redirected the money transfer back in Ravensong's chit. 'There it's all back in your account.'

"If it was your idea to use that droid to get into the Sith base it was a good one. But now we're out one droid, we may have to rethink that plan." Carth said as they headed towards the North Apartment complex.

"With the uniforms maybe we don't have too. Even if we don't get the codes to get passed security, we might be able to slip in with a patrol detail going into the base, or liberate the codes from say someone at the party? With the full helmets they won't be able to ID us as easily."

Carth gave her a look that told her he didn't think it was going to be that easy.

"I'm not as naïve to believe it's an easy ride." Skye was either a mind reader or very adept at reading expressions. "I'm just brainstorming. I mean slipping in with a unit is a hell of a lot better than trying to use the old prisoner transfer gig. That never works. Someone always blathers about how they weren't told and hit the security button to clear the whole thing with proper authorization."

"Used it before have you?" Carth smirked.

He received a sardonic smile in return. "No. But I was with a few soldiers who had; I played the part of the prisoner. It was actually the idea of a nineteen year old whining farm boy wanting to play hero. Sith's blood he annoyed me to the nine hells. I told him it wouldn't work but he was didn't listen."

"What happened?"

"What do you think happened? We had to shoot our way out of the whole mess. The whole mission was a bust. I swore that was the last time I'd listen to some chuckle-head fly boy who thinks they have bright ideas. Scouts work best alone and if we have to play nice with the team, then let it be other scouts."

Carth had nothing much to say to that. Ravensong was right. Scouts tended to be loners and hated to pinned down with a whole unit behind them. If they did have someone to watch their flanks, the numbers were always kept very small. He'd seen scouting teams of three and four never more. Scouts needed to move fast, with guile and decisiveness in all actions. They needed to know more so than perhaps commandos that those they paired with were completely trustworthy and reliable to handle whatever objective they were ordered to complete. This perhaps more than anything else was what drove Ravensong so hard in the reasons she needed Carth to trust her. If Carth couldn't trust her, how could she rely on him, trust him?

Nearing the entrance of the complex drew both Republics to a halt. They hesitated not for any trepidation about entering the more posh establishment but for the presence of three males. Two of them were Human one lingering in his mid-sixties the other treading on his early thirties; the other male was an arachanoid. The younger Human and the spider-faced thug were ruffling up the old man in the name of their employer none other than Davik Kang and all over the sum of hundred credits. From what was overheard apparently the old man was only able to pay half that amount.

"I know we're supposed to keep a low profile but we're not going to let this happen are we?" Onasi muttered out of the side of his mouth.

Skye shook her. "What is going on here!" she demanded walking bold up to the dark haired young Human, though her eyes never left the arachaniod.

"Careful we have witnesses. Davik won't like this," Dark-hair said.

'This doesn't concern you sentient. Leave.' the arachaniod's words were but a series of barks and clicks that made up his native language.

"I will not allow you to harm this man." Skye snarled back. She unsheathed her double bladed sword. "Leave now and you leave with your life." Skye slid the shoulder pack she had on her back to the ground so she was free to move as she willed.

'It's you that will be dead little female.' The arachaniod barked.

Skye lunged out with a simple overhand strike but the arachaniod responded with a quick parry to deflect the blow to one side. But it was only a feint, setting up a slashing attack at the wrist from the opposite blade. The arachaniod didn't have time to back away even as he realized what had happened. The blade slammed down neatly severing his hand at the wrist. His own vibroblade clattered to the ground.

He howled out in pain, holding his bleeding limb to his thick chest. His knees buckled, giving out in the pain rushing to his brain. Skye finished him with a round house kick to the head. His howls stopped prematurely.

Carth and the dark-haired Human were fighting it out with blasters. Carth ducked behind planters while the thug had hidden himself in the alcove of the apartment complex's threshold. The stalemate had them both pinned down without the advantage given to the other.

Skye opened one of the pockets of her tack vest, hurled an adhesive and concussion grenade. She didn't want an innocent bystander to get caught in anything more lethal. The old man might not appreciate the goo or headache but he wouldn't be permanently damaged.

Dark-hair would be rendered immobile and left completely disoriented. It had been a tactic that worked well in the arena and it proved to work equally well here. With Dark-hair now impotent of any action, Onasi was easily able to regain the ground he lost questing for cover to deliver a sniper shot to the thug's head.

Skye sprinted up to the old man cowering in the adjacent nook of the now dead Human thug. "Are you alright?" her voice became soft, comforting drawing the man from his fear.

"Thank you for saving my life, but now I can't pay Davik back."

"Maybe I can help," Skye said.

"You've done more than enough already. You saved my life."

"You owe a hundred right? Here take it, pay Davik back."

"You're…you're giving me a hundred credits just like that?"

Skye nodded as she handed over a hundred credit stick.

"I can never repay you." The old man's voice trembled, betraying his panicked state of mind.

"Not asking you to."

Astonished the old man took the credits, his hands still shaking from the battle he had witnessed. Fear lingered in his mouth giving him a bitter taste, but he wasn't about to turn the kindness of the young woman away. "Oh thank you. I have to tell my wife we don't have to worry anymore!" he found courage enough to move and quickly dashed through the complex's doors before the young lass could change her mind about the gift.

"Wow that was generous," Carth remarked.

Skye didn't respond to him, she didn't trust herself not to say something inappropriate. Methodically, she stripped Davik's goons of their blasters and snickered as she recovered a hundred and fifty credits off the corpse. As she had with the Rodians, she picked up the body of her kill and tossed it over the railings of the walkway. She stowed the reclaimed blasters in the shoulder pack she had dropped during the fight and slung the bag onto her back.

"Why do you keep doing body dumps?" Carth asked as he copied her and flung the corpse of his own kill over the edge of the elevated city streets.

"Maybe I just like to keep things tidy," came the reply. "Besides two dead bodies at the doorstep of an apartment complex that houses Sith junior offices could have repercussions for the residents. It would be our fault if it did. I won't have someone be blamed for something I did. I don't work like that." She fixed a cold stare at him. The veiled references to their earlier argument sucker punched him just as she knew it would. She followed with another verbal uppercut. "Only a bloody git would blame the crimes of another upon the shoulders of an innocent of said crime. But hell that's the way some bastards operate. Not to mention dead bodies tend to put a damper on festive events like a party. If we are going down to the Lower City we need to get our hands on those uniforms. Best bet is that party."

The Northern Apartment Complex, like the section of streets themselves, was as a mirror image to the complex Ravensong and Onasi had made their base. A donut-shaped format with apartments jutting out like spokes on an inverted wheel on the outer hub. Twelve apartments plus a maintenance bay for the janitorial droids. There was no patrolling security or protocol droids which made the job of espionage all that much easier.

Skye shirked off her shoulder bag once more as to hide it in a foot locker in the maintenance bay.

"What are you doing?" Carth whispered without knowing why he had felt the need to do so.

"I'm going in stealth mode. Being seen in southern apartments wasn't an issue, here I need complete anonymity. Especially sneaking into the apartment where the party is going to be held."

"How do you know which one it will be?" suspicion crept into Carth's voice.

"I don't, but I doubt it will have other residents in it. Plus if you're planning to have a big blow out just after work wouldn't you stock pile party-goods before your bash? I'm thinking cases if not kegs of alcohol and your typical snacks as well as easy to prepare foods like pre-made nerf-burgers in the crisper, throw them on the cooker and you're all set to host a party. Even if you don't offer real food you still have the junk food and drink at the ready."

Carth was impressed with her sound reasoning. Of course you'd stock pile the booze before a party. Now it was just a matter of discovering which apartment had such a cache.

True to plan Skye activated her stealth generator and began exploring. The first two apartments were empty: no alcohol. The third had a family of four, the next empty, again no warehouse of ale. There were occupants in a few more apartments still no sign of Sarna's. The next apartment had a single occupant. Skye would have left if her generator hadn't snapped, hissed and blinked off leavening her open and exposed.

Generally when a person finds their home has been invaded they do one of two things. They scream, run and barricade themselves behind a door, usually the refresher or bedroom. Considering this was a studio apartment it would be the former. The other popular option, the more aggressive one is to grab a weapon: sword or other such bladed weapon, blaster or even sporting equipment and go on the offensive.

The Human male did neither of these. Or rather he didn't do them fully. He did scream however and it was quite offensive but didn't run or attack. "Go on you son of a kath-hound bitch get it over with! Do your worst. I'm sick of running!"

"What are you talking about?" Skye shifted her stance ready to defend herself if it proved necessary but she doubted she was in any true danger.

Carth having heard the shouts of a Human came running from the hall into the apartment, His blaster was out, his finger flagging the trigger but he did not raise the weapon. He waited to see what Ravensong was going to do with the hysterical male.

Skye studied the man before her. He was the same build as Onasi, with short dirty blonde hair. His eyes were brown but it was difficult to tell for the dark baggy circles under them. It was clear he was on stims and far too much caffa. His whole body had the adrenalin shakes. He was smartly dressed had his clothing been fresh and not a week old and stained with food that had long passed anything recognizable. He stank of sweat and fear. No doubt he spent his days and nights on vigil waiting for a moment he now believed was upon him.

"I know you were sent here. I was too smart, hehehe I rigged the door so anyone wearing a stealth belt it would short circuit. Bet you didn't think of that did you?"

To be truthful Skye hadn't thought of it. That crash had addled her brain more than she wanted to admit. How could she have been so stupid as to forget the basics of security? Kriffing hell! "I'm not here to kill you, sir."

"No then why are you sneaking around with a stealth generator?"

"I would ask myself the same question in your shoes. It's um a hazing ritual for a band of Kessel Run couriers I want to run with once the quarantine is over." The lie fell smoothly from her lips. "I'm supposed to sneak into a Sith apartment and nab something of theirs. I was told one of these belong to a Sith junior officer. They said if I can't do something as simple as that, I have no business doing the Kessel Run." She said it so convincingly Onasi had to force himself not to believe her words. The shaking man bought the story fully.

"I…I think it's two doors down." The man quivered as adrenalin rush suddenly left him drained. "So you're not here to kill me?" his voice now a whisper.

"No. Why is there a bounty on your head?"

"I…I…am a merchant. Name is Largo. I lost a shipment for Davik when the Sith confiscated my ship. Now Davik says I owe him for the lost shipment. He said I should have been smart enough to hide the goods before the Sith came to take my ship. But I don't have the two hundred credits. So he….he put a bounty on my head! I've been hiding here…since."

Skye smiled. Somewhere in the back of her head she could almost hear the praise of an old blind woman for using this man's fear as a tool for dependency. This man was now completely open to suggestion; Skye could use it against him. Hell she could even claim his bounty, if she so choose. What she was about to do would no doubt gain the displeasure of this old blind woman who did not approve of giving aid to those who did not earn it.

"Here, take these," Sky handed him the full amount he owed.

"You're giving me two hundred credits? Why?"

"Tell me if the Sith have the same kind of security on their door as you did and we'll call it even."

The blonde head nodded. "I heard 'em talking about it; it's where I got the idea. Kelba sold a few disrupter fields but I think the Sith took the rest. They hit her hard. Harder than me but she can make her protection payments. Me…I can't on account those bloody Sith bastards took my ship. I hope you stick it to them good, Miss."

Skye smiled, "Count on it."

"I…thank you," Largo repeated. "I have to run and give Davik his credits; he'll pull the bounty off my head. I owe you my life!" He nodded at Carth as he slipped out of the apartment making a dash for the exit.

"That's was very generous, giving away two hundred credits. I just hope we don't end up needing them," Carth said coming up behind Ravensong.

"It saved his life. What would you have done? Kept the credits because we might and no doubt _will_ need them? Don't worry; I still have two matches in the ring to make up the difference. Plus once we go down into the Lower City I plan on checking out Zax's bounty office. Not just for Dia, but like I said before I want to see if there are any legit bounties posted and take them up."

They managed to find the apartment located by the merchant without further distractions. Just as Skye had predicted the place was stockpiled for the next night's festivities. Kegs of Tarisian ale waited for their taps to be turned and the fun to begin. Still under the guise of her stealth generator Skye slipped her hand to one of the many small compartments of her utility belt and withdrew several epi-pens she purchased from Dr. Zelka. The idea was to lace the already heady alcohol with strong sedatives, a non-lethal approach to neutralizing the enemy but still effective nonetheless. Once she had deposited the sedatives into the kegs, Skye left the apartment as she found it and went in search for Onasi.

SWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSW

It had been a long day just trying to find their bearings never mind the three arena battles, and siphoning information from the locals as well as the occupational army. It left both Ravensong and Onasi exhausted.

They ate in relative silence; the earlier argument still lay as a wall thick between them. Only when he had finished his food did Onasi even mafe an attempt to converse with the woman silently eating her roasted rabbit and potato stew.

"I still don't like the prospect of this party, Ravensong. It's fraternizing with the enemy any officer will tell you that."

"No, it's called espionage, '_Commander_'. How do you think officers get all that INTEL in the first place? Hum? Scouts do all the dirty jobs so all the glory of wiping out the enemy goes to the pristine image of the Fleet."

"Glory? Is that what you want?" Carth asked a little sharply.

"Glory is of no use to the dead." Ravensong said evenly. "Scouts do the dying, Fleet does the flying. We need to save the Jedi, Onasi. We can't do it the Fleet way by storming the place, you have to move in the shadows with subtly and cunning. There is no other way. Trust me, the Sith won't know what hit them at the party. I didn't just go in to scope out the enemy lines; I spiked their ale with sedatives while I was scoping out the area. Make sure you don't drink any when offered. Take the pint but don't drink, unless you want to wake up with a one mother-fracker of a hangover and answer some very uncomfortable questions about uniforms gone missing once they are all lucid again."

Ravensong rose from the table, placed her dirty dish in the recycler and headed for her bed. She didn't say good night to her counterpart, nor did she offer more conversation. Striping down to her underwear, Ravensong slipped between the sheets and pulled the blanket over her body. It was an early night but the next day was going to come very earlier and there were a few things to do before the party.

Skye hadn't told Carth that Ajuur had informed her that there was to be a morning bout if she was interested in challenging Marl. He had set it up so that new challengers could take on Duncan, Gerlon and Ice in the afternoon leaving any challenger to Twitch for the evening. It seemed the bouts of the Mysterious Stranger had stirred up a few bored Sith and local competitors who wanted their names to become recognized not to mention the credits to be made. It seemed that most new competitors believed the arena gladiators to be easy marks now that the Mysterious Stranger had sliced her way through their defenses and broken bones along the way. Few made it past Ice as they had underestimated the woman's abilities even recovering from a broken clavicle. Skye had agreed to the matches Ajuur wanted to set up. The one with Twitch was provisional, provided she defeated Marl.

SWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSW

Heavy lids closed allowing dreams to filter, manipulate and control images flashing like ancient memories long forgotten to form:

_The unmistakable sound of lightsabers clashing filled her ears. The snap-hiss of the blades coming to life. The static hum as blade yellow kissed that of red. _

_Smoke and ruins rose like spires raking the sky as the claws of a great and terrible beast. A cloaked figure rose out of gray mists. __Upon landing on the planet's surface, she was nearly destroyed by the resonance of ancient Sith power. She managed to survive the encounter through sheer force of will, but she did not escape unscathed._

_A plan soon took shape in her mind, a way to end the war before the Republic was too far weakened by the conflict. A new Sith training school was built over the crumbling ruins of the older complex on Malachor V, the ravenous dark side energies of that planet were used to bind the most trusted of her followers to her will. The resulting thralls were used to found the order of the __Sith Assassins__—a group that she kept secret even from…a close friend, an apprentice. _

_Snap-hiss of lightsabers clashing in a frantic battle. Red against red. _

_Snap-hiss of lightsabers clashing in a frantic battle. Red against yellow. _

_Whole worlds burning. _

"_I need you, Meetra. I need you to do this, to end the war. You are my most trusted general. It is the only way, you know it. Take command of this fleet. Infiltrate Dxun, use whatever means you have, whatever means you can conceive to destroy the Mandalorians on Malachor Five. Do this not only for the Republic, to save countless innocents, but for me. Your gift with force bonds will insure your victories, my love. The troops follow you not because of your strong and extremely unique tie to the Force but because of who you are. You are a natural leader; I need you to lead this armada. I trust only you with this, Meetra. Only you can to see this to the end."_

"_There is a way, but it will…destroy the planet." The voice of the beautiful blonde general resonated deeply in the heart of the woman she spoke to._

"_Then do it."_

"_As you command, it will be so. If it will put an end to the slaughter, I will do this, perhaps there is no other alternative." _

_Snap-hiss of lightsabers clashing in a frantic battle. Red against red. _

_Snap-hiss of lightsabers clashing in a frantic battle. Red against yellow. _

"_She will not turn, cannot be controlled as the others, she will need to die. Her battle meditations are a threat to us."_

"_Touch her, threaten her again and you will know pain, old friend as you have never known it!"_

"_You've become too soft Revan, perhaps it is time for the stronger to prevail."_

_Snap-hiss of lightsabers clashing in a frantic battle. Red against red. _

_Snap-hiss of lightsabers clashing in a frantic battle. Red against yellow. _

_Blood. A scream never issued for a man's jaw lay beneath the black rancor-leather boot of the one who had sliced it off. _

"_That is but a small lesson to you, Meatbag, remember it well. I am not so soft as you may think. Meetra will find her grave on Malachor Five, and if she does not, it will not matter. Her heart will die there regardless, she is pure Jedi. The destruction of all those lives, of that planet will echo in her for all time, it will wound her beyond measure. This discussion is over and will never be brought up again."_

_Snap-hiss of lightsabers clashing in a frantic battle. Red against red. _

_Snap-hiss of lightsabers clashing in a frantic battle. Red against yellow. _

SWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSW

Skye woke bathed in sweat and dread fear. The images she had seen in her dreams were not memories she held of her own. But then whose memories were they? War. Manndalorians. Malachor Five. A blonde general—a Jedi Knight who like Bastila had the skill for battle meditation. War. It didn't make any sense, the more Skye tried to reconcile it, to find meaning in them the more the images were swept away like the low laying fog banks. One could see it, lose their way within it but never touch it, yet were touched by it.

She dared to glance across the room to Onasi's bunk. Her fear that her night terrors might have woken the man up were laid to rest as he slumbered on in uninterrupted sleep. She offered a quick thank you to the Night Mother for minor miracles before she tossed the blankets aside and rose out of bed and headed for the refresher. She would reemerge ten minutes later feeling alive after a vigorous sonic shower and seeing to typical morning grooming and toiletry needs.

"Thought you might like a cup of caffa," Carth said handing her a synthesized mug from the Czerka autochef.

She took it with a smile. "I sure could, thanks." She sniffed the strong aroma of caffeine and roasted caffa beans before taking her first sip. "The head is all yours."

"I'd ask if there was any hot water left," he smiled, "but it's sonic so I don't have to worry."

"Would you really trust the water in this place if it was a hydro shower?" Skye quirked an eyebrow.

"Good point. See you in ten."

Eleven minutes later Onasi made his appearance, groomed as Skye had been. "So what's on the agenda for today?"

"I have a match this morning with Marl in Ajuur's arena. If I win, I face Twitch in the afternoon. It will pass the time and affirm my place as an arena gladiator rather than, well…a downed Republic soldier. With the winnings we can buy a few more supplies and prep for going down to the Lower City tomorrow."

"Tomorrow? I thought we should hit it tonight." Carth did not disguise his unrest or suspicions over Ravensong's motives. "Why are you stalling? Bastlia may need our help, the longer we wait could be dangerous for her. "

"I am not stalling Onasi. I am thinking ahead. The Lower City is overrun by swoop gangs, is this not so? They will no doubt be out in droves at night like cockroaches. It won't do her any good getting killed by act of stupidity. The party is tonight; even with the sedatives in the ale to knock our little Sith friends out it will take a bit of time to collect two hopefully three uniforms and slip out. By the time we do it will be late. What are the chances of a Sith patrol going down into the Lower City at night when the Swoop Gangs are most active?"

"I see your point," Carth conceded. "They will most likely go down there during the morning when the gang bangers are suffering hangovers, striking them when they are not so amassed."

"Yeah, exactly," Skye said. "I don't like leaving Bastila in a vulnerable position _if _she is in one. But we have little choice if we want to avoid attracting the attention of the Sith as a whole."

Carth was found himself once more drawn and floundering to the strategist in this woman. She had a natural talent to it, and he wondered if it was a skill she always possessed or cultivated in Special Ops. She took to leadership with the same natural grace and he was stricken how easily he followed her orders despite the fact she was the junior officer. It wasn't simply that he had delegated the more tactical elements of this mission to her but that he was willing to give her the lead and take her orders. If she went career Ravensong would make a formidable Fleet Admiral. The trouble was he had never known a scout to make it that far, or rather reach the age where it happened. The life and career of a scout was fraught with untold dangers that often ended in their deaths.

Skye had studying of her own to do. She had a few hours before the match would begin and she wanted to be prepared for the event. She hadn't studied old holovids of her opponents last night for she didn't want her rest to be disturbed by supposition of her opponent's abilities. She wanted as much rest as she could grasp. Her sleep since her recruitment to the Endar Spire had been plagued with strange dreams: nightmares really. It got so Skye harvested only a few hours, four at the most, of quality sleep a night. If she was to be any good today facing the blade master and a quick-draw blaster fighter, she needed to be as well rested as possible. That meant studied holovids over a high protean, high carb breakfast.

SWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSW

Marl was fast, charging in as Skye did, never giving his opponents a chance to toss a grenade. Skye figured he meditated on the opposition just as she did before the clang of the bell in beginning of a match. He used an Echani Double-Brand and was very comfortable doing so. Each overhead swing, each leg sweep was a circle of motion filled with fluidic grace and precision. He had Echani training, which meant he was fast and extremely aggressive. He relied on power lunges and ripostes as well as assertive critical strikes to down his enemies. Skye would have to balance her own counters with celerity to handicap him. If she wanted to cripple his shoulder as she had the others, she would have to get under his guard and strike with speed rather than power. She would have to move beyond sequences and forms, breaking off from one sequence and into another unexpectedly which would give her potentially devastating advantages.

Using the double-blade herself, Skye understood the ferocity of the double-bladed fighting style. The double-blades gave advantages to the wielder but not in the way one might believe. A single-bladed sword is familiar, the double-blades seem strange. Unfamiliar. Most don't fully understand what it can and cannot do. In combat, the opponents mind tries to keep track of each blade separately, effectively doubling the number of possibilities. But the two blades are connected: by knowing location of one, you are automatically aware of the location of the other. In actual practice, the double-bladed sword is more limited than the traditional sword. It can do more damage, but it is less precise. It requires longer, sweeping movements that don't translate well into a quick stab or thrust. Because the weapon is difficult to master, few among blade masters, including Jedi and Sith, understand it, even with their own double-bladed lightsabers. Others don't know how to attack or defend effectively against it. It gives those who use it an advantage over most opponents.

Exotic weapons or unfamiliar styles will be more difficult to defend against, but until one became an expert in a particular style, in the heat of combat the mind will still struggle to grasp its limitations. This was why Skye had so little trouble with Duncan and Gerlon and even Ice. They had not expected their enemy to use speed to dart in and aggressively take the combat to them.

Marl had time to study Skye's moves and see them personally in action. Knowledge is power; Skye would not allow the aged blade master to use what he knew of her and the double-bladed weapon against her. She'd meet him in combat yes and armed with two blades however they would not be connected but one in each hand. Marl knew how to counter and what to expect from the longer double-bladed swords but not a single blade in each hand, he would be forced to focus his mind on each sword, giving a slight advantage to Skye.

Facing Ice had been a test of speed and cunning, Marl would never leave himself as vulnerable as the blaster fighter had. No grenades here, but speed was extremely essential.

As before Skye tuned out the voices of the audience, the words of the announcer placing all her concentration on the fluid movements the blade master's double-bladed sword. She had tried that morning to memorize the sequences Marl used in his latter bouts in the ring. Now she was looking for clues that would tip her opponent's hand—that might reveal which sequence he planned to use to begin the battle.

The gong sounded, Skye sprinted from the alcove with the natural nimbleness born of her people, Marl had been expecting this, expecting the shoulder-lunge. Skye zig-zagged around to his left, not the right tucked and shoulder rolled striking Marl in the calf with a backwards sweep of her blade. The unexpected move sent Marl to the ground but he would not stay there for long. Both contestants rolled to their feet, facing each other, reassessing battle plans.

She knew she had shaken the old man with her ploy; it had worked and now he wasn't as confident in taking her as he once was. Marl raised the double-bladed Echani sword up above his head, spinning it so fast there was nothing but a steel-blue whirl, then he lunged forward. One end came down in a savage overhead strike that Skye easily parried. But the move was only a feint, seeing up a slashing attach at the waist from the opposite blade. Recognizing the maneuver at the last second Skye could do nothing more than throw herself into a backward, roll narrowly escaping injury.

Her foe was on her even before she got to her feet, the twin blades slicing down in alternating rhythm of attack: left—right—left—right. Skye blocked, rolled twisted, and blocked again, turning back to the flurry. She swept Marl's leg toppling him. Nimbly, Skye sprang into the air bearing down on him with scissor slices of her blades.

The next round of attacks kept Marl in retreat, but he was able to prevent Skye from gaining the advantage by giving ground and reverting to basic defensive sequences. He was still desperately trying to gain some advantage by waiting his opponent's moves. At one moment the Mysterious Stranger seemed to be using the jabs and thrusts of Jedi's style – one he had faced in his youth. He didn't recall the name, only that it was the most aggressive and direct of their seven traditional forms. But in the middle of a sequence she would suddenly shift to the power attacks of Djem So, generating such force that even a blocked strike caused Marl to stagger back. A quick turn or rotation over her swords and one of the blades was suddenly swinging again at an awkward angle, causing Marl to reel off balance even as he knocked it aside.

The gambit paid off Skye saw Marl watching her right hand sword move strangely as if it was a twin blade. There was a lull in movements as both contestants pulled apart to reevaluate their strategies, each breathing heavily. Skye twirled her weapons in a quick, complex sequence that brought both swords parallel with the outside of her arms. Then she smiled.

Marl watched the extravagant flourish with a sinking feeling. The Mysterious Stranger had been toying with him in the first few passes, dragging the fight out so her victory would seem more impressive. Now she was showing her true skill, using sequences that blended several forms at once, switching rapidly among different styles in complex patterns, Marl had never seen before. If he tried switching from one style to the next in mid-movement he would probably gouge out an eye or smack himself in the head. It was clear that he was outmatched.

Marl had taxed her in every counter like the weapons masters back in the Nagai monastery. Testing her at every stroke, now it was time for theater, fear would push Marl back, fear of the unknown. The Mysterious Stranger moved in again, her swords moving so quickly that Marl could hear the whistle as they split the air. Marl leapt forward to meet the challenge, trying to call up the last reserves of power and energy in the stims, of his battle implant to anticipate and block the dual blades moving too fast for his eyes to see. He was able to keep the sharp edges of the swords at bay, but it required him to concentrate all his attention of controlling his own blade…leaving him vulnerable to the real purpose of the attack being unleashed against him.

Marl's shoulder exploded as Skye's blade slammed into the bone. Pain turned his vision into a felid of silver stars. Dazed, his left arm useless he was able to parry the next strike only by instinct guided by decades of training and skill. But Mysterious Stranger spun as her sword was turned away and delivered a back roundhouse kick that shattered Marl's kneecap.

Screaming, Marl collapsed, his injured hand slamming into the ground as he braced his fall. Skye back flipped waiting for an attack born of explosive desperate anger. It never came. Silently she sheathed her swords, turned and walked away, back into the alcove that would lead to Ajuur's court.

She tried to assess all that happened. Before the bout she had accesses the power of her implant giving her an edge as well as allying speed and strength boosters. But during the second half of the bout the effects of the stims had worn off. She pulled on all her reserves, all her power just to keep the upper hand—what little she had of it. She pulled at the power beyond herself. She felt something fill her, guide her and she had let go allowing this new energy to direct her every action.

It was the scream that woke her to the realization she had defeated her enemy. Unarmed and vulnerable, Marl the Blade Master waited the stroke that would have ended his life had they been in a true field of battle rather than an arena.

As before, Ajuur paid the minimum payment required to keep his fighters from turning on him in some sort of desperate organized union. Force forbid the fighters actually decided to form a guild. If time wasn't so pressing, Skye toyed with the thought just to spite the slug. Ten percent of the proceeds didn't amount to much compared to the betting pools. They could have made more if Onasi hadn't thought that gambling went against the regulations. If he just bet on one match she wouldn't be forced to continue all the way up the ladder just to make at least four grand in credits.

Marl's vibroblade, powered down or not, had done a number on her body making her feel like mincemeat. Yes she had returned the favor tenfold; after all she only had a sprained wrist, several lacerations and twice that number in bruises. The old blade master would be nursing a broken clavicle and knee. Of course Ajuur offered medical insurance to his fighters and an extortive price, but they did receive quality care which included as much time in the kolto tank as was required to restore one to full health. Marl would be spending several days in one just to recover to moderate health.

"Looks like we should head to the Doc's clinic to get you patched up." Onasi said approaching Skye.

Skye only nodded. "I want to see if Marl is okay as well."

"You gave him one hell of a beating." Carth commented. "I was sure impressed. I mean the way you move it's incredible. Not if you were a Jedi, but…damn girl you sure know how to put on one hell of a show. How much did we make?"

"We?" Skye scowled. "WE didn't make anything, because s_omeone_ didn't want to bet. _I_ made two grand. Twitch will give me another three, if I win."

"Ravensong, betting is against regulations and being your superior officer it would be in violation of the law considering our work affiliation. It's ethically wrong."

"But watching me beat the crap out of old men isn't? Had you bet on me with Ice we would have been up five."

"Maybe you shouldn't be so generous with our credits with every sad-sack that comes along, we would have more."

"Don't you mean my credits? I don't see you earning any. And if betting is against regs, how come you bet in the pazaak dens?"

"I'm wagering on myself not on a junior officer."

"Right," Skye was still scowling. "As for the 'sad-sacks' it would be 'ethically' wrong to turn my back on something I can help with. We need allies on this wretched world and helping those 'sad-sacks' actually helped me harvest information on this place and gave us leads on the Lower City as well as Davik Kang. So as long as you're sticking to your ethical grounds so am I. I'm going to help Dia with Holden and if I have to anyone else I see in desperate need of intervention against injustice as well. It's built into me, I can't ignore it. It's like is programmed into my soul."

"Skye please don't think I'm some heartless git. I want to help everyone we can too, but our first priority is Bastlia."

"I know that. Trust me it's the foremost on my mind."

SWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSW

Marl was laid up on one of the medical bed being prepped for the kolto tank when Skye approached him.

"You've sent a lot of business my way, young lady. If I was a merchant I would be pleased. As a doctor however I have to say I hoped you'd be a little less enthusiastic in the ring." Doctor Zelka chided the young scout.

She tipped her head sheepishly. "Sorry,"

"It's alright doc. You'll have me patched up right as rain in no time," the old blade master said softly. "You got real talent girl. Ice was right when she said you are good. Nice trick switching weapons on me."

"You saw me fight three bouts and you're proficient in the double-blade yourself, I needed an advantage over you."

"Seems you got it. First only Twitch could best me, now you. I think I will retire before someone else climes the ranks and beats me as well. Soon someone will be gunning for your spot, Stranger."

"They can have it. I needed to earn credits in a hurry; the ring seemed a logical choice."

Marl laughed, "Only for the credits eh? Lot of fighters burn out fast that way."

"Believe me I have no long term plan to stay in any battle arena anywhere. I simply need to make enough to get off this rock. Once that is done anyone wanting to take the championship is welcome to it."

"I think I understand. Good luck to you, Stranger."

"Thanks." Skye flashed a genuine smile. "Hum, sorry about the knee, I actually didn't mean to do that, I simply allowed the energy of the fight to flow through me and guide my hand. I got caught up."

The old man nodded. "I could sense it. If I didn't know better I'd say you're a Jedi."

Skye shook her head. "Just a Nagai scout who's been trained with an edge since I swaddled."

"I heard that Nagai children are taught young. Then I think I wouldn't feel so devastated I was bested by some young punk. Being beaten by a Nagai with a blade is almost inevitable. No wonder you move as you do."

"Marl, the tank is ready whenever you are," Zelka interrupted.

"Thanks doc." The old man cut a look to the physician. "You might want to ready another tank for our friend here. She has a bout this afternoon with Twitch."

"Humph, if I suspect how it will turn out as I think that Rodian will most assuredly need submersion. Looks like you could use a quick dip yourself young lady."

"Thank you, yes." Sky laid down a few credits for the healing, but Marl waved them off.

"I'm retiring anyway and I still have a few healing credits on my insurance. Bill her treatments to my account, Doc." Skye was astonished. It must have shown upon her face for Marl smiled warmly. "Call it a parting gift. Like you said, Stranger you're trying to earn credits. Besides I heard what you did for my brother with Davik's men. You fought them off of him and gave him the credits to even his score with Kang, so I feel you're owed."

Skye gave the old man a slight courtesy bow, complete with her weapon's hand open palmed over left hand into a closed fist as was customary amongst the Nagai. It was a sign of respect and gratitude.

"You do me an honor, Stranger." Marl mimicked the salute "And for what it's worth, may the Force be with you."

SWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSW

"Alright, alright you can say it," Carth said as the two walked out of the infirmary.

"And what is it I'm supposed to say?" said a rather smug Republic scout.

"That you were right. About helping that merchant with those thugs and pay off Davik, paid us…or rather or you back, karmically in the long run."

"I don't have to say 'I told you so.' You already know it."

"So what do you want to do before your match with that Rodian?"

"Eat, study his older matches to get a sense of what I'm up against. I know one thing: Twitch is a stim-junkie. He does a lot of speed boosters. But if he is at the top of the game, he must not only be fast but dead accurate with his blasters. I need to know just how long I have before he pulls and fires. I had just over a second with Gerlon, I might have less then that with the Rodian. I need to be fast and I need to on top of him before he can get an accurate aim. I might be able to pull off a few grenades to pelt him with at first."

"The same tactic you used on Ice?"

"Pretty much – a concussion and adhesive bombardment should help give me an edge. I won't know until I watch his old matches, though."

SWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSW

Having scouted out the location earlier Skye and Carth managed to make their way to the North-side apartments. They managed to scrounge some fairly presentable clothing for the Sith party, enough so they looked rather smart-casual.

Taris at night had a far different air to it than its day-light façade. Gone were the merchants and shoppers and day tourists from the satellite communities. In their stead were the partiers, gamblers and club-goers. Out came the downed spacers trying their hand in the arena all trying to beat the Mysterious Stranger's record so they might take it from her personally in the ring once they made it that far. Out came the youth of Taris's noble houses looking to fill their vices. Out came the loan sharks and card sharks swimming from Davik's pond as it were. The number of troopers on the streets didn't seem to have increased though, despite the rougher crowd. Though some were now carrying heavier weapons.

One could almost forget about the corruption and the decay with the lights of the buildings giving a spectacular impression of Coruscant at night. It was in a strange surreal way beautiful.

Neither Skye nor Carth said much as they wound their way past the crowds to the North side and finally into the apartment complex.

However just before they entered Sarna's apartment, Skye turned to her counterpart. "Look when we go in, you have to keep your cool, don't blow our cover. Don't start losing your temper like you did this morning. All we need is for your hair trigger anger control issues to blow up in our faces in the den of the enemy."

"I don't blow up at everything," Carth snapped.

Skye mealy cocked an eyebrow at that.

"I know how important it is we retain our cover, you can count on me."

"Counting on you is not exactly the problem, can I trust you?"

Carth had absolutely nothing to add to the comment. Sky shook her head sadly. "That's what I thought." Then she depressed the buzzer at the side of the pneumatic door before she entered with Carth on her heels. The party had been obviously going for the last quarter hour or more, the way people were comfortably mingling, dancing and eating the meat-of-the-day.

As soon as Skye walked in she felt all eyes turn to her. She shifted her stance to a defensive one least they try anything. Carth was already edgy with his stanch belief this was all still a trap. Not to mention Skye's comment caught him like a good left hook in the jaw.

"Here you are! I thought you weren't going to show. You have to try some of this Tarisian ale. It's fantastic!" Sarna greeted the newcomers with a bright smile.

"Careful Sarna," warned a male friend from across the room. "That ale's got enough kick to keep us out till morning."

"Who cares? We're not on duty tomorrow so let's live a little. Besides we're going to celebrate MS's victory over Twitch. I never seen that Rodian so quickly dispatched. I mean it, it was brilliant! Lobbing those grenades then springing in nearly decapitating him, rolling away before he could hit you."

"Actually he struck me as I dodged." Skye amended. Hell her shoulders still ached where the blaster bolts hit her. She still felt the sting of the EM field down her spine.

"Still you shook it off easily enough; just to come back at him like a rabid kath hound. I've never seen anyone move like you. Well anyone who wasn't a Dark Jedi. " Sara mimicked Skye's trust, parry and trust again with her index finger. "You're incredible!" Her footwork might have been impressive had she not had consumed alcohol (laced with mild sedatives). She tripped over her own feet, toppling over into Skye's ready arms.

"Oh my hero!" she giggled.

Skye nearly dropped her right then and there had she not already started to put the inebriated Sith back onto her unsteady feet. "Right place, right time,"

"Heroes get a kiss," Sarna slurred through pursed lips. "Don't you know that?"

"Another time when there aren't so many eyes watching." Skye chose a more discrete path to through the woman's advances.

"The Mysterious Stranger is shy!" Saran giggled,

"They don't call her Mysterious for nothing." Yun said with a teasing smirk on his face. "But Sarna's right MS. You took Twitch down faster than rakghoul disease! Zip, flip, strike one—two—three, and dart away. That spastic Rodian was eating arena dirt before he even realized it. Arena champion in two days, kriff that's gotta be some kind of record! And that flying shoulder move is fantastic! You got everyone with it. I love that move! "

"I got it watching a tusked panther take down a gundar. She dashed in, leaped and struck the other creature in the shoulder blade crippling it before she moved in for the kill. I adapted it for the sword." Skye explained.

"Hey, MS," another Sith said walking over to her. A male Human with dusty blonde hair and green eyes. "Ever think of sighing up? You're officer material make no mistake. You think fast on your feet, hell of a fighter. I bet you strategize well too. I mean two gladiators in one day and making that slug pay more than he usually dose to his other fighters."

"Sorry guys but adhering to rigid protocols isn't my style. I rather keep my head then lose it because of insubordination." She flashed a devious smile. "I'm known to have a wicked sense of humor that has its own life. Nope, the open hyperspace lanes are my home."

"Luke can't you quite recruiting for one bleeding day? Come on, Ice turned you down what makes you think MS will want anything to do with the military? Hell there are days I want out," Sarna lamented. "Kriff, I should have become a space jockey like you MS, if I wanted to explore strange new worlds and new civilizations. Instead I get stuck in this backwater pit of a world"

"Here! Here!" Yun raised his second glass of ale and took a swing.

"So why did you join up?" Cath asked indiscreetly earning him a warning look from Ravensong.

"Well it's all in the recruiting isn't it?" Saran answered, leaning more of her weight on Skye. "A five year tour: to seek out new worlds, encounter new civilizations; to boldly go were no one has gone before. Bring order and structure to the lawless and chaotic regions of space. The mission is to unite planets under one flag for a more prosperous Order. See other worlds on the Sith's coin. Oh and the uniforms looked cool!"

"Admit it Sarna, the only reason you joined up was to get the uniform so you can hit on girls who like a person in uniform." Luke laughed.

"The grays are smart looking." Skye decided to balance Carth's clumsy interrogations with a bit of flirting. She looked at Sarna suggestively which gained her a full rosy blush from the blonde Sith woman.

"Yeah well no grays here, MS we're all troopers." Yun said. "Still they are a far better uniform than those hideous orange and yellow targets the Republics were. Kriff, who designed those things, some color blind Wookiee?" This got a laugh from everyone save for Carth Onasi who face turned into a grimace. "If they weren't so gods' offal ugly, I might have joined their side but there is no way in hell I'm running around in a uniform that looks that wretched." This aliased more laughed and a deeper scowl from Carth.

Skye noticed his expression and flashed a warning look to her partner least the Sith take his moodiness the wrong way and decided to take offence. Slipping from Sarna's lazy grasp, Skye stepped over to Carth and elbowed him in the ribs, "Want to cut the attitude in here? Look suck it up flyboy or we will never get out of here alive."

"They insulted…"

"_Now_ isn't the time," Skye hissed. "Think for a moment before you go off half cocked."

Carth nodded, knowing the petite woman was right. His gargoyle frown could easily break their cover as surely as announcing they were only there to steal the uniforms. "I'll attempt to blend in."

"Try being a wall flower." Skye suggested before moving off to a gaggle for drinkers all talking about the battle-ring match not four hours ago. Apparently a few of them had lost some hefty credits in betting against the Mysterious Stranger. Having the woman here now was salt in the wound. Though the losing lot seemed to be taking it in stride or perhaps it was the laced ale mellowing tempers that might have ordinarily gone super nova.

Saran sauntered up to Skye, coiling her arm around the thin frame, "Dance with me." She lisped in the induced drunken stupor of the drugged ale.

"Out here or a private dance?" Skye risked a coy answer, nibbling on the Sith's ear.

"Private," husked the other woman. "Defiantly private."

They moved beyond the common room to a small private enclosure. It wasn't much of a bedroom, about half the space of Skye's shared co-ed quarters aboard the Endar Spire. A bed and a wardrobe and that was all, there wasn't even a nightstand near the bed. Skye suspected that Sarna wanting a private bedroom had turned what might have been a large walk in closet into a bedroom. Not that the scout blamed the woman, she would have done the same. It was a tight fit but hey it was very private.

Sarna giggled as she toppled over her own shadow onto the bed. "Oh….hey tell the captain to stop the world, I want to get off. It's too dizzy in here."

"I think someone had a bit too much ale," Skye snickered.

"Ah bantha poodoo, I can drink anyone of those kriffing shuttas out there under the table and still stop by the cantina for a pint." With that said she was out like a burned out light fixture.

"I don't envy you, your hangover my lady Sith. Or the fact you'll have to explain to your CO why you misplaced your nice shinny silver suit."

Carth was more than displeased when he saw Ravensong disappear into what he thought was the closet with that Sith whore but when she came back out of the little room, Ravensong looked like that proverbial cat that had both the cream and the canary.

"You came out of a closet." Carth said lamely when Ravensong approached him.

"Who are you kidding? I've been out for years." She flashed him a toothy grin.

The commander actually flushed, "Um …'that's … um not what I meant."

"I know," the grin grew toothier if that was at all possible. "But you leave open-enders like that Onasi, and you're gonna get zapped." She laughed lightly and infectiously. Onasi found himself snickering at her easy humor.

All around them the room had become a den of the comatose. It was an easy matter to locate the many duffle bags of uniforms haphazardly tossed into one of the corners of the main room. Skye slung one pack over her shoulder, tossed another to Carth and took a third into her left hand.

"Three?" Carth said taking the bag Skye held in her hand into his own. She wasn't going to quibble over the issue of being able to handle two bags. She was more than content to give in the courteous gesture.

"That's what I'm thinking. You, me and our lost Jedi. Or in a pinch we can trade one to one of the swoop-gangs if not for intel than for an alliance to help find her. Even if we have to trade two, we can stow one away on our quarters, they will defiantly come in handy in the long run."

SWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSW

"Now that we've got the uniforms I believe it is best we go down to the lower city now, if for nothing else than to 'scout' it out." He gave a poignant look to the woman walking beside him. We'll stash one uniform in our quarters then head back in our new suits."

"Is that an order?" Skye said in a hushed tone. If it was a suggestion she could tell him she wasn't going to go, wearing the Sith colors below was going to attract unwanted attention. After the day she had, Skye wasn't exactly looking forward to another battle so soon after Marl and Twitch from earlier in the day. However if this suggestion was an order she really had no option, she would have to obey conceding to his superior rank.

"Yes it is. You should be proud your scouting ways are rubbing off on me. We won't do anything but take a look around, tomorrow morning we go deeper."

"Aye _sir_," was her only response.

Tiredness was only the state of the body, one that could be overcome with the power of will. Will was a powerful force, so powerful it ruled the universe. To have power one must let go of desire, of want. It had been a useful tactic in the past to let go and allow the energies of the universe fill her, to push past exhaustion, and focus on one objective at a time. One little goal at a time until it was accomplished, once it was, a new little goal was to be set and accomplished, and so on and so on. Skye's immediate goal was to push past the exhaustion of her body's taut muscles to don the Sith uniform. It wasn't long before Skye had reached a state of mind that in the past had allowed her to stay awake for days at a time, consuming very little water and food and set a lopping gate if she needed to keep moving. It was a talent she had managed to keep from her counterparts within the ranks of Scouts which wasn't an easy task. Scouts were trained to be observant.

Of course this inherent ability as that with her language skills might have caught the attention of Jedi scouts which is why that had such a keen interest in her. For a Jedi, her abilities were natural but for a non-Force user it was virtually unheard of. Even if Skye reasoned she might be Force sensitive, her skills didn't in her mind warrant the attention of the Jedi Council. Then again she had never truly understood the magnitude of the Jedi ways. Who did? Not even the Jedi themselves for when odd unexplainable things occurred they would simply say the 'Force moves in mysterious ways.'

It was almost a surprise to Sky when Onasi spoke to her through full face helm's modulator. It gave his voice a strange if not mechanical distortion, synonymous with the Sith. "Try to keep your cool when we pass the guard at the lift doors, he won't take kindly to a snarky subordinate."

Was that a veiled threat? A warning? Onasi was one contrary officer. He orders her to blend in and when Ravensong does almost seamlessly he berates her for it. Typical of officers, she supposed. Or course Fleet officers and scouts never mixed; it always ended up with the scout charged with insubordination and infractions of protocol.

"Actually he might warm up to a bit of complaining that we're going down there at this hour. Have you been an officer too long to recall back when you were a grunt foot soldier, how to bitch about officers and their dumb-ass orders you have no choice but to follow only because they have more metal and chevrons on their uniforms?"

Two could play the veiled word game.

Onasi wanted to take Ravensong down a peg for that last comment but he couldn't. She was right. For the whole of the day, or rather since their fight yesterday he had been holding a slight grudge against the woman for getting to him in a way no other had ever, not since his dead wife had. In truth he had no right to take out his personal demons on the woman, or the fact all along she had been following his orders to fit in and look the part of a grounded spacer. She was reluctant to go down to the Lower City at this time of night, not because of fear but because she doubted the disinterested Sith troopers would have even bothered with nocturnal patrols if they didn't even bother to during the day. Of course daylight was a relative term in an area of the city that held so very littler natural light.

"Another patrol?" The guard questioned as soon as he saw the two troopers coming in his direction. Since the crashed Republic escape pods there had been several patrols going down not simply to the Lower city but to the vile Undercity.

"The big man upstairs wants the area thoroughly checked." Skye grumbled, "I don't know what the officers think we'll find down there. Any survivors gotta be rakghoul meat by now."

"I know what you mean; the governor sits in his luxury office all day while we do all the work. Course if there is anything to find you can bet your sweet silver arse he'll take the glory. As if some wash out of the Republic scum would give him enough prestige to get him his precious lightsaber."

"Lightsaber?" Carth whispered the Sith governor was a dark Jedi? His drive to find Bastlia became even more urgent, the consequences far more dire if he could feel the presence of another Force-user.

Ravensong laughed to cover up Carth's slip. "As if a few grunts of the Republics would gain any prestige. But it explains why we were told to report to the Lower City patrols."

"Don't look at me to hold you up trooper, best be on your way then. Be careful down there, though. Last I heard those rat-bastard swoop gang-bangers are picking each other off and they don't give a damn who gets hit in the crossfire."

"Yeah, well that's the idea though isn't?" Carth said snidely, trying to sound like a convincing Sith shock-trooper. "Let the swoopers take each out to save us time and energy."

"Yeah well like I said, they don't give a damn who's in the crossfire, just cover your six."

SWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSW

"This is fun." Skye chided her companion as pressed her back against the bulkhead along the corridor leading from the lift to the Lower City. It hadn't been ten minutes before the two refugees of the Endar Sire found themselves in the midst of a gang battle. Of course seeing the Sith uniforms the Black Vulkers turned from their Hidden Bek prey and began firing upon Ravensong and Onasi.

Carth kept his tongue there was no since in rebuking the young scout for her sarcasm. He lobbed a concussion and flash grenade around the corner from where they had taken refuge from the gang-bangers. Their cover wouldn't last long but it was enough to gain the upper hand. Skye tossed one a cohesive grenade of her own before dashing in to confront a Vulker with a stun baton.

"Down you go!" Carth roared as he fired round after round from his blasters.

The battle between the Vulkers and the Hidden Beks had left the gang-bangers in a weakened state add to that affects of the non-lethal grenades and you end up with a recipe for defeat. The Vulkers went down but not without causing a bit of damage themselves. This wasn't the arena and their weapons were not heavy stun, Onasi and Ravensong came away from the fire fight bruised and a bit singed around the edges from the blaster fire.

Trying to scout out the area dressed as Sith had proved an almost fatal judgment call on Onasi's part. More than a dozen times over the two were forced into a fight not of their own choosing. The Black Vulkers crawled out of every crevice of the decay and Upper City's twisted mirror image of the Lower City streets like gizka. The apartment complex was a hive of activity and none of it good. Black Vulkers cropped up along almost every corner and lurked in every single apartment they had entered thus far. They even got into a blaster fight with some blonde woman, who no doubt was on the run from the law.

"Remind me never let you plan the next outing." Skye said once they had found a safe harbor in one of the apartments of the lower city housing complex. Safe had been relative state of existents because about their feet lay four dead gang-bangers. Obviously the Republic refugees had stumbled upon a raiding party and crashed it and death was the result. "As an agent for R and R you're not that good at it."

Carth knew Ravensong was falling into a pattern of humor to defuse the tension of being overwhelmed by the odds. It wasn't difficult to see that she was attempting to keep a tight reign on her temper and rapidly evaporating patience. Given the day she had it would take a village idiot to not see that she was perhaps just on this side of over-exhaustion. Two heated arena battles, espionage in the heart of a Sith junior officer party, theft and now dodging gang-battles in increasing numbers. Death it seemed had placed a bounty upon their heads and was now looking to call it in.

"I don't know as a travel agent I could market this tour as an adventure," the man said attempting his own brand of humor.

"I meant Recon and Research," Skye smirked gaining a small smile from the older officer. "We are scruffy enough to look the part of Lower City citizens. Considering this place was filled with Vulkers when we came in I think we should find another apartment or some maintenance bay. It doesn't look like this place as seen a janitor or maintenance droid in years there has got to be a place to ditch something and won't be found quickly by some looter."

That was true. Whatever semblance the Lower City had to its Upper counterpart, it had long forgotten what it was supposed to look like. It was as if the city had desperately tried to recall its former glory or what its big sister looked like and made a plagiarized mess of it. Carbon scoring, blood, and scrapped and chipped paint marred the walls, doors, bulkheads and floors. The floors themselves were in such a state of dubious disrepair that in some areas it was contestable whether or not they were even stable enough to hold the weight of a three year old child let alone squads of brawling thugs.

Skye pulled two rolled up canvas sacks (the same bags that the uniforms were stored in the first place) she had stashed in the shoulder pack Carth had lugged with him. The armor was shed, stored in their bags and stashed in an old maintenance bay behind some rubble after it was berried under a bit of detritus.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Javyar's cantina was the decayed sister of the Upper City Cantina. Where the higher class place had its fill of off duty Sith, snobbish nobles and tradesmen this place was filled with scum and villainy. Safety wasn't a word that could ever be associated with this joint. Both cantinas were dimly lit but this place had its own special brand of dimness. As if the low lighting would make the food and drinks seem more palatable.

Three members Black Vulkar gang squad blocked the bar proper. They were too content with accosting a human male of small stature who had been sitting alone off to the side, to notice anyone behind them. Skye thought him either very brave or very stupid for wearing the mushroom style hat in a place like this. It was like he purposely invited trouble to his table just for shits and grins. Or his mother still dressed him. The scout wasn't entirely sure.

"Go away," growled small man.

'Hey! You not be like that! We just want to talk to big, bad bounty hunter Calo Nord!' said a Rodian in his own language.

'Nah, this can't be Calo Nord, he's supposed to be tough,' a Twi'lek scoffed responding in Huttese.

"One," said the now named Calo.

'Huh? What one mean? What's he trying to say?' came a second Rodian. It was difficult to tell if the Vulker member was being sardonic or he was simply that thick.

'You shouldn't talk down to us. We're members of the Black Vulkars! What do you think of that?' said the smug Twi'lek.

"Two," said Calo.

'Me not understand. One, two? What, he trying to count how many of us there are?' quipped the first Rodian. Obviously it was the Black Vulker brain trust hard at work.

'It's three against one! What do you think of those odds?' It was the last thing the Twi'lek said.

"Three," Calo's voice was placid as was his face. He then lazily tossed what looked like a flash grenade on the floor. There wasn't a chance for anyone to do anything but cover their eyes. In the fog came several shouts, three blaster shots and then the blinding light faded away. The three Black Vulkers lay on the floor, very dead. Pools of dark blood leaked from their heads. Calo Nord calmly holstered his twin blaster pistols and then strode towards the door, which Skye and Carth had blocked.

"Interesting tactic," Skye commented.

Nord's beady eyes rested upon Skye for a moment. "One."

Skye rolled her eyes and stepped aside for this little man. It was clearly obvious this tiny male had a chip on his shoulder as large as the metropolis world itself. Men like Nord infuriated her. It seemed they were always trying to overcompensate for something, in Nord's case it was a personality.

"Smart," said Calo.

"Whatever," Skye brushed past the bounty hunter, purposely bumping into him. "Why don't you go take on a rancor?" She tossed over her shoulder "Or go mate with one you've got a personality to match."

"Skye are you trying to provoke him?" Carth hissed.

The scout shrugged. "He's already gone."

Carth looked to the door half expecting the pint sized male to be counting down to three before he tossed a flash grenade but as Ravensong had said the tiny man in a white mushroom cap had gone.

Like scavengers a few of the patrons of the bar had made a go at the corpuses of the Vulkers taking what ever credits, blasters and stunners they could find. Cath half expected to find the scout amongst their number but she was already at the bar ordering a couple of drinks that came in their own bottles. She wasn't going to trust the establishment's cleanliness by quaffing ales from one of their tankards.

Nursing both wounds and drinks the two Republic officers sat in the drunken -cloying clamor of the bar, neither offering words nor thoughts. Skye's attention was caught when a high pitched female voice snapped out amidst the buzzing din of the bar. Settling her bottle of ale on the bar she moved without sound towards the commotion. Carth was on her heels, a heartbeat later.

"I told you to leave me alone! Now give me some space bug-eye! Your breath smells like bantha poodoo!" the voice though young had a bite to it. A streetwise voice, obviously.

Skye watched the scene unfold with interest. Two male Rodians and by the look of their colors they too were of the Black Vulkers. This time however they weren't trying to harass a small man but a very young Twi'lek.

Skye was watching the lithe blue-skinned teenager, gauging her stance, her posture and smiled. Carth on the other hand had his hand on the butt of his blaster his eyes only on the Black Vulker Rodians.

"Wait a minute." Skye hissed. "Watch how this plays out."

"Are you crazy?"

"Do it." The Nagai commanded. She knew the teenager would be able to handle one of the Vulkers. And the girl knew it too. But her stance was far more self assured than it aught to be and that was what caught the scout's attention.

'Little girl should not be in bar. This no place for little girl. Little girl should run away home now.' Said one of the Rodians. Just as the one gunned down by Nord this one spoke in his own native tongue.

"Just a sec boys. Zaalbar, a little help here? I need you to rip the legs off some insects."

A massive fury shadow shifted from one of the tables up against the wall, albeit grudgingly, yet obediently. It answered, not in Basic but in petulant barks, growls and purring rumbles. 'Mission I'm busy! They just brought my food!'

'_That's Sheraroook! How very curious…_' Skye listened intently; her curiousity now even more peeked. Even Carth took a small step back. He didn't understand what the creature said but he suddenly understood why Ravensong had told him not to interfere.

"Quit complaining, you can finish later. Besides you need the exercise so get over here!" said the girl.

A mammoth form lumbered into the light revealing to be what Skye already suspected: a Wookie. His pelt was of a dark auburn though blonder by his eyes and muzzle. So he was young then.

The Rodians filched back quickly, their fear almost palpable. It was strange though to see such an insular species such as the Wookies on Taris. It wasn't unheard of but it was uncommon to see one of their kind off of Kashyyyk, save for the unfortunate souls that Czerka Corporation had enslaved and sold. Perhaps this Zaalbar was a freed or an escaped slave.

'We no want trouble with Wookie. Our problem with you, little girl.' The second Rodian stated as if it would make a difference to the menacing figure shadowing the Twi'lek teenager.

'_I bet you don't_,' Skye thought to herself.

"You got a problem with me? Then you got a problem with Big Z. So unless you want to take on my furry friend, I suggest you greenies hop on outta here." The two Rodians began slowly backing away, their eyes fixed on the wookie called Big Z.

'Little girl lucky she has big friend,' one of them called the parting shot as they raced for the doors of the cantina.

Skye approached the street urchin and asked, "Are you all right?"

The girl looked the scout up and down before speaking "Hey, I don't recognize you and I know just about everyone around this part of the Lower City. I guess that makes Big Z and me you're official welcoming committee."

"You showed a lot of guts dealing with those Vulkars kid," said Carth, "You got a name?"

"My name's Mission Vao and this big Wookie is my best friend, Zaalbar. I'd offer to give you a tour, but the streets aren't safe right now, what with the gang war between the Hidden Beks and the Black Vulkars."

"Tell us about that," asked Skye.

"It's all Brejik's fault," returned Mission hotly, "If he hadn't been such a sleemo, this would never have happened. Ya see, Brejik used to be part of the Hidden Beks, Gadon's right hand man. I think Gadon was grooming him to take over leadership or something. Anyway, when Gadon lost his sight, everyone assumed that he'd let Brejik take over. But Gadon said that with his artificial eyes he could see just fine, and that Brejik wasn't ready to take over. Brejik stormed out and then shows up in charge of the Vulkars. Next thing anyone knows, Brejik's gone and declared war against the Beks. Gadon is one of the nicest and most decent people I've ever met. I can't believe that Brejik wants to kill him now. It's all just so stupid!"

"Indeed." Skye nodded her head. "One should always heed the Council of their mentors." For a moment the Nagai frowned. The words seemed almost programmed into her. A part of her mind rebelled. 'The Council is wise, but before they act the whole Outer Rim will burn.' Those hidden rebellious words seemed so familiar and yet so very alien. "So you got any info on this part of Taris that could come in handy?"

"You're not from the Upper City are ya?"

"Grounded since the quarantine. We were on a routine job and bang we're stuck since that kriffing space battle. So you know anything useful? I can make it worth your while …say pay your meal tab?" Skye offered.

"You sure you want to do that? Big Z's got a big appetite."

Skye looked to the Wookie and shrugged. "Show me a Wookie who hasn't a bottomless stomach. You guys can eat a whole side of a gundar and still be hungry for rancor rump roast."

That actually got Zaalbar to laugh.

Mission eased right up. "Yeah, I know pretty much all there is to know about the Lower City. I've even got the scoop on that bounty hunter Calo Nord."

"You mean the little man who likes to count to three before he kills? So spill, what's up with mushroom head," said Skye.

"Calo Nord's one of the most famous bounty hunters in the galaxy. He's killed more people than the Iridian Plague! I've seen him kill people just for trying to talk to him!" said Mission.

"So we noticed," Carth grimaced.

"I figure he's been hired by Davik Kang to do a special job for the Exchange. I'd wager a thousand credits that once the quarantine is lifted, he'll be off this rock."

"Kang is that crime boss for the Exchange isn't he?" Skye asked.

"Yeah, I don't poke around his business much, good way to get you killed. I just know he's into extortion, spice, slavery, you name it. He and the Sith don't seem to bother each other, but I don't think they like each other either."

"Thanks Mission. We need to head out." Skye said.

"You going?" asked Mission, her voice betraying her disappointment, "Yeah this place was getting boring anyway. Hey Zaalbar let's go."

The big Wookie let out a mournful muffled howl of protest. This was his second plate food, his second dinner interrupted.

"Can't you think about anything besides your stomach for five minutes," said Mission exasperatedly as if talking to a little brother rather than a two and a half meter tall Wookie. "Come on, let's see if they have anything good at the Bek base." That being said the teenager and Wookie departed.

"This just gets better and better" quipped Skye. "We've got rival street gangs on the war path, a pipsqueak bounty hunter with a massive chip on his shoulder, Exchange crime boss thugs and the Sith. This might become …problematic."

"I thought you were an optimist." Carth jibbed.

"An optimist is what a pragmatist calls a realist. We need to leave. I think things are about to heat up. I can feel it."

"You're right. Still since we're down here we might as well see if we can't find the Hidden Bek place. This Gadon seems like the man to know."

Skye swallowed the retort hanging off the edge of her tongue. She was exhausted, her nerves raw and vibrating with the echoes of all the maleficent life around her. It was disorientating and she didn't like it. Onasi seemed hell bent on trudging forward despite the scout's reluctance. She needed fresh eyes, a clear head and rest. Onasi who had all of the above had become blind to his companion's needs and trudged on despite her reserves.

If he wanted to drudge on, so be it, but they might as well wrap a few things up in Javyar's cantina first. "Actually, wait a minute since we're here we might as well check in on this Hutt who runs the bounty hunters. Five credits will get you ten, that sleemo Holden who harassed Dia is hanging around. Besides we have a few 'tags' we can claim. I bet that blonde woman was someone being hunted. And we can see if there are other claims that either need to be silenced or picked up. Gives more street-cred why the 'Mysterious Stranger' is slumming in the Lower City, if I can say I wanted to pick up some bounties."

Finding a guy like Holden wasn't that difficult. Skye didn't know either to laugh or cry, but it seemed the galaxy was the same all over. Place a bunch of drunken men together and what do they do: stare at half naked women shaking their asses on stage.

"Hey Onasi, stick your tongue back in your mouth." Skye jibbed, elbowing Carth in his side. As with nearly everyone in this particular wing of the cantina all eyes were drawn to the scantly clad Twi'lik erotic dancers.

"Eh?"

"That guy in the gray waist coat… that's gotta be Holden. He matches the description Dia gave me." The scout pointed to a dark haired human male, sipping from a glass of dark ale, his eyes glued to the stage.

"Oh. Right." Carth shook his head clearing his addled head from the lovely scene on the sate for the slobbering drunk not twelve paces from were they stood. "So how do you want to play this?"

"Just follow my lead." Skye whispered as she sauntered up to the human male, making sure to add just a hint more sway to her hips as she did so. It worked. Holden was now eyeing her as eye candy rather than the nearly naked dancers and their swaying lekkus.

"Oh sorry. I didn't see you there." He mumbled, watching her with a new interest.

Skye slipped one of her more seductive if not coy smiles. "You like the dancers?" she whispered.

"Don't worry babe, alien girls aren't my thing. I'm much more interested in attractive females of my own species."

"Really? Aren't you one of Davik's men?" Skye purred.

Holden puffed his chest out a little more. "Yeah that's right. I'm one of his top curriers. Name's Holden. Davik is always sending me off planet to deliver and bring back packages. He knows he can trust me to follow his orders to the letter. Plus I used to be an intergalactic customs agent so I know the tricks to catch smugglers. That gives me an edge I need in my currier runs."

'_How predictable. Give a smile and the pride just swells up. Male egos are so easy to control._' "Do you think Davik can get me off this rock?"

Holden was full of pride and esteem-exactly where Skye wanted him. "Davik's ship is the fastest in the quadrant. But even the Ebon Hawk can't get off of Taris until the quarantine is lifted. Any ship leaving orbit without proper access codes will be disintegrated by the Sith auto targeting lasers cannons. And those codes are locked securely way in the military base. Davik pretty upset about that. His smuggling operation isn't making any money, but even with his underworld connections he can't get his hands on those codes."

Skye grin grew almost ravishingly. "You're pretty open about what you do."

Holden shrugged. "It's not like its some big secrete. It's kinda hard for Davik to keep a low profile when he belongs to a big intergalactic crime syndicate like the Exchange."

"I bet." Skye took a step up to Holden who must have thought his words had made this woman very wanton indeed.

Being close to a man like Davik had its benefits. The ladies always wanted him because of his 'mob' connections. Holden was the sort of man that lived by the rule 'Treat a lady like a whore and a whore like a lady and get pussy all the time.' Tonight he was getting lucky. Blood rushed southward.

Skye smirked. '_Very predictable.' _Still smiling the demur smile, Skye whispered in a very husky wanton tone, "You're the same Holden who put a bounty on Dia's head right?"

Her tone got his attention, her words stymied the man. All the blood that had been hanging south rushed northward making him feel a little dizzy, if not down right befuddled. This was not what he expected! "You're here about that? I guess Zax must have mentioned me to you at the Bounty Office. Fair enough, I don't care who takes her out so long as the job is done. I can't let her get way with what she did. That wench tried to cut me with her vibroblade!"

Despite knowing the reason already, Skye wanted to hear the words from the shutta's own mouth. "Why would she do that?"

Holden had the audacity to look affronted. "Because she's crazy! She started screaming that I was making advances. The next thing I know she's cutting me with her knife!"

Carth rolled his eyes ant the indignant tone of the other male. "Yeah right. Sounds to me like she was defending herself."

"I admit I was drunk and maybe I got a little out of line. But it was no big deal. She didn't have to cut me!" Holden pouted still trying to protest any guilt on his part.

Skye leaned in, this time her eyes shown not of the coy demureness previously but cold hard malice. Her voice still low was now a growl of menace. "Sounds like you got what you deserved. I want you to take the bounty off her head."

"You weren't there! She totally overreacted!"

"Like you are now?" Skye still kept her voice low. "What kind of low-life insecure man puts a bounty on woman who doesn't want to be raped? Or where you following Davik's orders to the letter when you did that? Take off that bounty."

"I can't do that. Think how it would look? I work for Davik. I got a certain reputation to uphold. I can't let her get way with this. There has be payback. Anyway I do feel a little guilty about all of this. Dia's a good look'in woman. It'd be a shame to kill her. Tell you what give me two hundred credits and I will call it off."

Skye's hand went out viper fast and clutched the man's testicals. "How about…not? I can make this look much much worse than you hiring some wack bounty hunter to kill a woman for giving you a little wee cut on your ugly mug. How about the Mysterious Stranger guts one of Davik's men for being a rapist? I know your boss likes to keep things more subtle, than you claim. Getting that kind of attention, especially when the news hits the nobles can't be good for _his_ reputation. I think he would be grateful to have such a stain removed from his employment, if only to save face. What do you think?" Skye squeezed.

Holden squeaked. Carth winced in sympathy.

"I want that bounty removed, NOW!" the last word was barked so loudly it caught the attention of the other patrons in the closed off area.

"Yes. I'll … I'll … do it. I'll get it removed. Sith's blood woman. Let me go."

All her frustration of the day, of Carth's words and actions were transferred to Holden. She let her hold go, her stare however did not drop. "Well? Why are you still standing here?" Skye snarled.

Holden fell to his knees clutching his crotch. Tears had streamed down his face from the pain. "You're crazy bitch!" he hacked out between gasps of air.

"I'm a bitch with whom you do not frack with. Dia is under my protection. I bet you've seen one of two of my fights. I know you've at least heard of what I can do in the ring. I now I want you to put that knowledge to use little man, and think of what I can do out side the ring when I get pissed off. I won't even count to three before I strike. Understand?"

Holden nodded.

"Good boy."

Still grasping his groin, Davik's man managed to find his feet and rise. Carth watched him hobble out of the bar before looking at the small woman before him. "That was a bit over the top wasn't it? Not to mention it was a little scary to watch truth-be-told."

Skye let out a claiming breath, "I've had a long hard day and males like that piss me off. Sometimes being a little _scary_ is necessary." She said nothing more but headed for the Bounty Office.

Zax the Hutt was nearly as large has his cousin Ajuur in the Upper City Cantina. His demeanour was as expected: dismissive of humanoids and unwilling to pay more than the barest minimum he could get away with and still have people to do his bidding. Skye wasted little time negotiating with the slug for the bounties she wanted to claim and investigate. Holden appeared to have kept to his word sand removed Dai's bounty, thus proving being a little scary was the right tactic to have used. The blonde woman turned out to be a Sith assassin with quite a substantial bounty on her head. The bounty on Largo's head was gone was the one on Muriel's brother.

She also collected a bounty on Matric a green skinned Twi'lik she had helped by faking his death with the permacrete detonator. In exchange for his life the terrified man had given Ravensong a great deal of information on Davik's connection to the Exchange and that there were bigger Bosses on Nar Shadda that Davik was in danger of Quarantine wasn't lifted soon. Matric left in a big hurry but said he owed Skye more than he could ever repay he'd leave details on Tatooine if she ever needed him. In the meantime he was going to disappear.

As they finished with the Hutt, Carth reevaluated his initial decision to scout out the Hidden Bek base. Ever since they came into the Lower city danger haunted their every step. They were running low on kolto epis and he had no idea how many stims Ravensong had to use to keep the pace she been hold. She still was nursing wounds from her earlier bouts in the ring and no doubt her body was still on the mend from the crash.

"Maybe you're right, Ravensong. We'll head back to base and start fresh tomorrow."

"Very sensible." She said without her typical levity. Her voice was tempered steel and cold. The encounter with Holden was still fresh in her mind. All she wanted to do now was go to sleep. Anger led to stupid mistakes and stupid mistakes lead to death. Skye knew if she didn't find her calm center she'd lose it for sure. It didn't help that Onasi was a paranoid belligerent thick-headed male who was convinced she had something do with the Sith attack on the _Endar Spire_. His mistrust and anger issues were going to make the mission to save Bastila all the more difficult. Already Skye was growing to resent and despise the man. But there was the rub, he was her superior officer and they had to work together to find and probably rescue the Jedi.

'_She really must be in bad shape if she isn't slinging a few wisecracks_.' Carth guiltily thought. '_We really shouldn't have come down here, tonight_.'

They said nothing more as they returned to the elevator that would take them to the Upper City and their apartment. Skye shed her armor, clothing and headed into the refresher to take a shower. She wanted to be rid of the smell of battle and stink of the cantinas and the slum of the Lower City.

Onasi was still up and helping himself to a late night meal of what might be Corinthian stir-fry from the synthesizer. Skye didn't even bother with a meal, she was too tired, to soar to bother with food. She remained silent as she grabbed a fresh changed to clothing and hit the bunk. She had specifically chosen the one that faced the door. She didn't like the idea of her back exposed to possible threats from the outside. With no foundation of trust between she and Onasi, she didn't trust him enough to cover her six, if there was danger. Once they were off this rock, Ravensong wanted nothing more than to leave Onasi and his paranoia light-years far behind her.

SWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSW

The two Republics trekked their way along the detritus of the complexes ruination, just as Skye knew it would. Along with the now common assaults the two experienced a rather strange encounter between the Vulkers and a gaunt weasel of man.

"You guys are late with your payments. What, you think just 'cause you're in some gang that you won't give Davik his cut?" asked the weasel.

'_I_ _don't see Davik earning his share! We're the ones doing all the work_!' said the first Vulker in Huttese

'_Yeah! Let's see the big crime boss come down here and take his cut_!' the second retorted.

"Oh so you want to play this the hard way?" said Weasel with a manic smirk "Haha, okay." He whistled as if calling a war dog to his side. From out of the shadows the 'war dog' was none other than a giant of a Mandalorian. Just over two meters tall, with iron gray hair and steal gray eyes. Those eyes had not only seen countless deaths, but had caused it.

What was strange for this Mandalorian was that he wasn't in the stereotypical armor one might find in his kind, but garbed in trousers, a black tee-shirt and a red tac-vest. Of course what he carried in his hands was very much typical of the 'Mandies: a very large caliber carbon blaster riffle. The thing like it could blast an airspeeder into slivers of scrap metal.

Cath immediately went for his sidearm; his back stiffened his whole poster screamed in silent rage. "That's a Mandie." He hissed.

"No kidding." Skye shot back. Her hand however didn't go anywhere near her blades. But her eyes never left the brut form of the Mandalorian. After the Mandalorian Wars, the scattered remnants of the warriors were now nothing more than honourless thugs for hire.

The Vulkers didn't seem all that pleased to see the Mandie either. All the their bravado drained away quickly leaving no trace of it leaving the stink of fear in its wake.

'_Oh hey Canderous. We… we didn't know you was working for Davik now. Here, take the payment, we won't be causing anymore trouble_.' The one on the left stammered. His fear rising off of him like stink off a Grammarian.

"I knew you boys would see it our way. Now don't be late next time." Said Weasel.

"Too bad," the man now know as Canderous rumbled in a growling voice. "I was looking forward to cracking some skulls."

"I'm sure you were Canderous! Don't worry I'll call you if there's any more trouble," said Weasel as he walked away.

Carth was about to turn and leave as well when he saw Skye approach the Mandalorian.

"Those Vulkars are dumber than a Coruscant granite slug and only slightly more appealing. Gadon and the others keep their people in line, but Brejik's getting delusions of grandeur. If Davik is smart, he'll slap that young punk back down." Canderous said as the Nagai approached him.

"Who are you?" asked Skye.

"I'm someone you don't want to get on the bad side of," growled the big Mandalorian.

"So say all Mandalorians. It becomes wearing after awhile. Can't you people think of a new line by now?"

Canderous was clearly amused. "You've got some guts for a Nagai pup. Now if you'll excuse me, Davik's got me on special assignment." With that Canderous strode away, his gait was casual and unhurried.

After a beat, Skye followed the Mandalorian into the apartment complex he had vanished into. Rounding the corner the Republic companions once more had a run-in with Calo Nord. Apparently tonight was the night for shaking down the gangs, what with both Canderous and Nord on the prowl.

And speaking of little devils, Nord once more was there, wearing the same gear as he had last night.

'_He really should get a new hat_.' Skye mussed watching the scene before her play out. '_Seriously! Why would anyone deliberately want to look like a mushroom?_'

'You seem to be taking an interest in our progress. Do you need something little man?' asked one of the rodians.

'Quiet Luugro! That's Calo Nord, the famous bounty hunter!' said the second.

"There's a bounty on your little green heads. I'm here to collect," said Calo simply.

'The only way you'll collect is over our dead bodies!' shouted the rodian.

"That's the plan," said Calo.

Skye stood back watching, with no intention of interfering. She knew precisely what would happen. Her eyes never left Nord's hands. She watched, studied and analyzed the small man's tactics.

Calo whipped out his blasters and shot his pray with speed and efficiency. He calmly holstered the pistols again and turned away. Board. Sky's apprising look was returned by the short man in a glacial stare. The blast goggles covered up most of his eyes but the Nagai scout read contempt and for moment it seemed Nord had recognized something in Skye's face. He said noting, didn't even count as he moved passed them into the shadows of the Lower City.

'_Nine seconds. Humm… pretty damn fast._' Skye analyzed the little man's quick-draw and reflexes. '_Might have an implant, it's clear he's not a stim abuser like Twich. But he's got a short fuse just like Onasi. Not a good combination. Hair trigger on his blasters as well. Interesting.'_

"Why did you follow that Mandie into here?" barked Carth after catching up to the Nagai.

"This complex is built like the ones in the Upper City."

"Yes. So what?"

"One entrance." She pointed over her shoulder with her thumb indicating the solitary entrance and exit of the apartment complex. "If that Canderous fellow was on special assignment for Davik … where did he go? I was thinking special assignment like oh I don't know changing of the guard over a very special prisoner. Of if someone else has her extraction of said prisoner."

Carth had to admit he had never even thought of that. All he could think of was he wanted to blow that Manndalorian's head clean off, maybe even pull a Carlo Nord and through a flash-bang before gunning down the Mandie dog.

One of the apartments in the derelict complex locked with fairly high-grade security system for what was the norm for the Lower City. Skye sliced it without much difficulty.

Unfortunately they only encountered derelict apartments, though with some unique locking features on some hidden stash that was quickly repurposed all in the name of the war effort to find and rescue one Bastlia Shan.

At long last they arrived at the entrance to the Hidden Beks' base. As they approached the door, a sentry stopped them.

"Hold it right there," said a dark skinned human woman.

"We need to see Gadon Bek. We were told he could help us," said Skye, matching the woman's icy glare for icy glare.

"A lot of people want to see Gadon. He's a hero of the common people. But the days of the Beks' open door policy are gone. Between the Sith occupation and the Vulkars gang war Gadon has more enemies than he used to. We're being very careful of who we let in now."

"Perhaps we could be an ally against those enemies," said Skye.

The sentry studied the two with a wary eye before she shrugged. "Hmm, perhaps. We could always use an extra hand and you don't look like you're with the Sith or the Vulkars…" she hit the command panel just behind her allowing access into the base. Like most doors on the Lower City, this one protested with a rusty metallic groan.

"You can go on in and speak to Gadon if you want. Besides it's not like you can do anything to harm him in his own base, not with Zaerdra watching his back,"

The Hidden Bek base like the rest of the Lower City was illuminated with dim lighting, smelled of old steel, grease, dust, mildew and what could only be described and the decay of old buildings. And yet this place seemed more comfortable, homey even in comparison to the rest of the Lower City. Even with the grease spots caused by their swoop bikes the place looked cleaner was well.

Various aliens and humans wandered hither and thither, dressed in the colors of the Hidden Beks. At the far end of the room, a dark skinned human male sat behind a large durasteel desk. As his side was a pale-creamy skinned female Twi'lek with purpled lekkus in full battle armor. No doubt this 'guard dog' was the one called Zaerdra.

The man they presumed to be Gadon Theck. Before they could address him however, the Twi'lek woman pulled out a blaster rifle took point as she placed her body between hers and that of the human male.

"Hold it right there! Who are you, and what is your business with Gadon?" the Twi'lik snarled like a good kath hound she was impersonating.

"Calm down, Zaerdra," spoke the man sitting behind the desk. "Nobody is going to try something in the heart of our own base. It would be a suicide mission." He stood up quietly but there was a slight limp to his gait that suggested he had seen his fair share of swoop bike accidents.

"You're too trusting Gadon. Brejik and his Vulkars want you dead. Anyone we don't know is a potential threat and it's my job to make sure you're safe." scolded Zaerdra

"Do you want us to start attacking strangers on sight Zaerdra, like the Vulkars do? I will never let it come to that! Now let them pass." commanded Gadon.

There was a tiny hesitation in the one called Zaerdra. Her lekku twitched in agitation and aggregation.

"As you wish," she said then she turned to Skye and Carth, "You can speak to Gadon if you want, but just remember that I'm watching you. You try anything and you'll be vaporized before you can say Vulkar spy!"

"You'll have to forgive Zaerdra. Ever since Brejik and the Vulkars began this war, she's been a little over-zealous in her duties. The problems with the Sith haven't helped any. Zaerdra seems to forget that I can look after myself," there was a very pointed look given to the woman that spoke volumes to a very observant scout.

Skye who had yet to use her blaster pulled it out slowly using only two fingers, dropped it to the floor and kicked it to the feet of Zaerdra. A seconded latter did the same with her swords. "I am Nagai. I will not part with my honor blades, the rest are yours. I speak with an open hand and an open mouth."

Carth didn't move, he didn't understand the significance of the gesture but apparently Zaerdra did. Zaerdra didn't want to trust in the newcomers but then again no Nagai offered up their bladed weapons if they weren't serious in their negotiations. The Knives could care less about their blasters, but take their blades and you might as well try and take a lightsaber from a Jedi.

By the gods he loved that woman but sometimes her overprotective nature could be a little cloying. Gadon flashed an 'I told you so' smile over to Zaerdra before he addressed the Republics. "Now how can I help you?"

For a moment Skye was taken aback by the paleness to the man's eyes before called something Mission had said about losing his sight and now having artificial eyes.

For his part Gadon was nonplused by the reaction his implants saw. "My eyes … a causality of an accident. It's part of the reason there is this war between the Beks and the Vulkers. When I lost my sight in the swoop bike accident everyone assumed I would step down as leader of the Hidden Beks and let Brejik – my most trusted follower – take over. But with my ocular implants I can still see well enough to lead the gang. I knew Brejik wasn't ready to lead this gang yet. Unfortunately Brejik didn't agree with me. In a rage he left to join our rivals, the Black Vulkers. A lot of the younger gang members fell out with them and flowed him, since they've taken control of the Vulker gang."

"Why start a gang war with Brejik?" Carth asked.

"Brejik is a proud man. My decision was a public humiliation for him. Maybe if I had stepped down this gang war could have been adverted." There was a deep sadness in the ageing ganger's voice that sang of regret and remorse.

"Don't fool yourself, Gadon. Brejik wants to control the Lower city gangs. If you stepped down he would have led the Beks against the Vulkers. He wants this war one way or the other." Zaerdra all but snapped.

Gadon sighed. "You're right, Zaerdra I know you're right. Brejik won't rest until I'm dead and the Beks are no more. But it's so hard to accept the truth of his betrayal."

Skye thought of a follower as a master trusts a protégée. Somewhere in the back of her head she thought it almost traditional the apprentice replaces the master. The master betrayed. She thought of a dark apprentice rising up and striking his master in a grand moment of betrayal. Of taking an army and razing the innocents into nothing but ghosts, destroying the infrastructure that was previously carefully maintained and kept whole for stability. Rampaging apprentices never understanding their master's focus, goals or agendas. Apprentices who believed in might makes right. Brejik and Darth Malak had a lot in common it seemed. Both betrayed their masters, both rained down terror and death without purpose thought or forward thinking. In the end they would be the architects of their own doom.

Gadon pulled back from his inner reflection and gave his full attention back to his guests. "We got off point," he gave a sad smile. "What can I do for you?"

"We need some information on those escape pods that crashed down here," said Skye, her eyes not on Gadon but on his body guard.

"The escape pods? You know, I heard that the Sith have been asking around the Upper City about those pods as well… but you don't look like you're with the Sith," said Gadon.

"They might be spies Gadon. They might be working for the Sith," Zaerdra spat, despite having the blades of a Nagai Nightblade laid at her feet.

"Cool it, Zaerdra! If the Sith thought we knew anything useful, they'd have a battalion of troops kicking down our door! No, I think these offworlders have their own agenda."

"Don't worry, we're not working for the Sith," said Carth.

"You have a problem with the Sith?" said Skye her question was not as naive as she had made it out. Knowing the relationships between the parties between you and your objective could gain you a lot of ground or lose it. "I was led to believe the Sith left the gangs alone, preferring you to wipe yourselves out."

"A foreign army invades Taris, declares martial law and locked all travel to and from the planet? You damn well bet I have a problem with that! If the Sith ever moved down here all the swoop gangs would unite against them. We'd use to hit and run guerrilla tactics to pick them off. Their causalities would be enormous."

"Don't fool yourself." Carth warned. "The Sith would never commit to that kind of opportunity. They'd probably so something much more grand and deadly." He gave a mournful thought to his beloved home world and how the Sith bombarded it.

For his part Gadon ignored Carth's warnings and continued to speak to the Nagai scout. "So far the Sith have stayed out of this stupid gang war. I tried to explain this to Brejik, but he and his Vulkers won't listen. I suppose I could tell you what I know … it's not like it would do any harm to my gang … but it might cause problems for the Vulkars, and that's okay in my book. The Vulkars stripped those pods clean within hours. It's too bad that my Beks didn't get to them first, considering what the Vulkars found. A female Republic officer named Bastila Shan survived the crash and the Vulkars found her when they went hunting for the pods. We Beks don't believe in intergalactic slavery, but Brejik holds a different opinion. They took her prisoner."

"Bastila's a slave? What will happen to her?" Demanded Skye

"Normally the Vulkars would take a captured slave and sell them for a nice profit to Davik or an off-world slaver. But a Republic officer is no ordinary catch," said Gadon.

"At least they still think that Bastila's just a Republic officer. That could work to our advantage. Maybe she'll escape from the Vulkar base on her own," whispered Carth.

"Ha!" laughed Gadon, "She's too valuable to leave with the scum at the base. No, Brejik's got her hidden away somewhere safe until the big swoop race. You'll never find her," said Gadon.

"There has to be some way we can save her!" Skye insisted.

"I'm afraid that your friend has become a pawn in Brejik's plan to take over the lower city gangs. He's offered her up as the Vulkar's share of the prize in the Taris Season Opener swoop race. By putting up such a valuable prize, Brejik hopes to win the loyalty of the smaller gangs, with their numbers, he can finally destroy me and my followers."

"So how do you propose we rescue Bastila then? We can't fight all the gangs," said Carth, desperation edging into his voice.

"The only hope you have is to somehow win the swoop race."

"Win a race?" It couldn't be that easy. There was an angle here, the scout knew it.

"I could help you, if you'd be willing to help us. We both have something to gain here. And much to lose."

"What are you proposing?" asked Skye.

"The race is for the gangs only. No outsiders are allowed, so I could sponsor you as a rider for the Hidden Beks. If you can win the race, you'll win your friend's freedom. But first you have to do something for me. My mechanics built a new prototype accelerator for our swoop. A bike with the accelerator can beat anything out on that track. But the Vulkars stole the prototype. They plan to use it to guarantee them victory. You'll have to break into their base and steal it back," said Gadon.

"And just how, exactly, are we supposed to do this?" Skye skeptically asked. The man was playing a lot of angles here, angles she didn't like. But the scout didn't see an alternative either.

"Getting in won't be easy. The front doors are locked down tight. But I know someone who might be able to help you get in the back way: Mission Vao."

"Mission?" exclaimed Zaerdra incredulously, "Gadon, she's just a kid! How's she supposed to help them?"

"Because Mission knows every step of every back alley in this sector of the city. Plus she knows the Undercity sewers better than anyone. If anyone can get you inside the Vulkar base, she can."

"We met Mission in Javyar's Cantina earlier," said Skye, "where can we find her now?"

"She and her Wookie friend are always looking to stir up some excitement," said Gadon, "They like to go exploring in the Undercity despite the dangers. Your best bet is to look for her in the Undercity. But you'll need a way past the guards and their droid turrets," said Gadon.

"Not a problem we've got Sith uniforms." Skye said.

Gadon shook his bald head. "A simple disguise might have fooled the guards in the Upper City, but the security's much tougher down here. You'll need the proper security code. Luckily my gang ambushed a Sith patrol that was headed down to the Undercity and their code fell into my hands." A sly look forced the aging gang leader's face, a smirk that was returned by a Nagai.

"Since we're working together now, I suppose I could give you the code in exchange for those uniforms of yours."

"What do you need the uniforms for?" Skye almost demanded.

"Just say I like being prepared. The Sith will sooner or later start sweeping the Lower City. When that happens I want to be able to help as many of my people as I can. These uniforms will give us an edge."

"Alright you've got a deal. They're stashed in the maintenance bay off the south end apartment ring." Skye said.

"Good choice," said Gadon," Thanks for the uniforms. You won't need them with this code anyway."

"We'll be back when we have the accelerator," Skye tossed over her shoulder as she turned to leave the base.

"I suggest you hurry," he said, "The race is coming up soon and we want you to have time to practice before it happens. And you're welcome back anytime you need. We've aided strangers in the past even a lost Jedi kid."

"A Jedi? Who?" Skye pressed.

"It was before the Mandalorian Wars. A kid by the name of Zayne Carrik. He was accused of …"

"The padawan massacre." Carth finished. "He didn't do it. I knew him to, way before the rise and fall of Darth Revan. That was ages go it seems."

Skye frowned. The name Zayne Carrik was on the edge of memory. She knew that name…something familiar about it.

"Small universe." The Bek leader said. "I also know Jedi and their friends tend to stir up mynok nests. But they also put up one hell of a resistance. They did so when the Mandies were here, I'm thinking maybe something similar will happen with the Sith."

Skye looked at the old man. "If you're looking for Jedi sorry to disappoint you, you won't find any here. My only priority is to rescue Bastila."

"Of course. And good hunting." Gadon raised his hand in salute.

SWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSW

Armed with the code, a good night's sleep and new supplies in medi-packs, anti-venom serum the companions made for their new destination—the elevator that would take them to the much warned about Undercity.

The lift to the Undercity was well protected there were at least half a dozen automatic laser turrets all pointed at the duo. Behind them a pair of Sith shock troopers. Without hesitation both raised their blaster riffles

"Hold it civilian. This turbolift is only for the use of those on official Sith business. If you don't have the proper code, you might as well turn around and walk back." The one on the right demanded.

Skye with one hand up in surrender she dipped her hand into the breast pocked of her tack vest and handed the trooper Gadon's code.

"Better hope this works, or it will be a real short trip." Carth muttered under his breath.

It was the guard on the left who took the code from Skye's hand and ran it through a scanner he had on his utility belt. "They check out sir." He handed the papers back to Skye. He frowned starring at her.

"Right," said the first guard, "All right you can go down, but I don't envy you though. Watch out for the mutants, the Rakghouls. Some advice: If you see anything moving down there, shoot first and ask questions later."

"Don't I know you?" asked the second guard coming closer to Skye. She took a step back, though made no other moves that might be rendered as hostile.

"Could be. Watch the arena?" Skye said without a note of trepidation in her voice.

"Oh yes! The Mysterious Stranger. Arena Champion." He nodded.

Skye thought she could almost hear the smile under the silver helmet. "I won two months wages worth of credits betting on you against Twitch. You've got some sweet moves M.S."

"That's what I've been told."

"So why you going down in the Undercity?" Asked the first guard.

"After clearing up the bounty office and the arena, I wanted to see what the fuss was about with the Undercity. The officer I got my papers said there might be some credits in it if I did a little hunting. I think a few patrols have had a small problem with the rakghouls. Since you troopers have better things to do then sweep the place exterminating those mutants, there was an open bounty on them." She was lying through her teeth and it was working.

"Yeah we've lost one patrol already to those damn things while we were recovering those downed Republic pods." said the guard who had betted on her in the ring. "Good luck with it."

Skye saluted him as she flashed a very flirtatious grin. "Thanks."

As the doors closed on them Carth let out a long held breath. "When he started asking those questions, I thought we were done for."

"You and I both." Skye nodded. "Being M.S. sure as hell smoothed a few things for us."

Where the Lower City was rife with decay, filth and depression the Undercity added this to disparity and hopelessness. It was almost too easy to believe they were on whole other planet. The reek of decrepit buildings, ancient earth sought out the nose and stayed there in a malign grip.

Stepping out of the lift, places the companions right on the edge of a very sad little village. The poverty of the place was evident. The inhabitants placed up lean-tos so establish this little plot of land is mine, my home and hearth. No shelter was truly necessary this far beneath the megatropolis, still it was the nature of sentients to create such a place.

The Republics didn't even get a chance to get their bearings before being immediately accosted by two male Outcasts.

"This is a public elevator I will not pay a fine." Skye snapped back. They weren't wearing the colors of a swoop gang nor the silver armor of the Sith, apparently this to the Outcasts said 'easy mark.'

"Unbelievable! Even the beggars are trying to shake us down!" Carth commented.

"You two get out of here!" A girl shouted after the beggars "Sorry about them. We don't get a lot of Up-worlders here. My name is Shaleena."

"With your welcome I can't say I blame them." Carth snorted looking after the two young men who had scuttled off like so many rats.

Skye ignored the comment as she had the beggars and turned her full attention to the girl. Time to start harvesting information: "Shaleena, do you know anything about the escape pods that crashed in the Undercity?"

Shaking her head not the girl answered. "I don't know anything about that. Sorry. But Gendar could help you. He's our village leader."

'_Okay we have a start. The village has its leaders, probably its own laws and codes that have nothing to do with the Topside_.' "Tell me of the village."

"Well I was born here, for starters." The girl shrugged. "My parents were outcasts. Banished to the Undercity for some sort of crime or other. They never really liked to talk about it. Everyone here is an outcast or is a descendent of an outcast. It's tough down here but we survived. I guess it's easier for me since I've never known anything different.

"Some people have given up hope. They've become bitter and depressed. But most of us are good people -despite what our ancestors may have done. Gendar can probably tell you more or even Rukil. You could talk to him if you wanted. The children call him Rukil Wrinkle-skin because he's over a hundred years old."

Skye took all the teenager said in. Depressed and bitter people without any hope was a bad combination. Without hope there was a thought there was nothing to lose if they wanted to attack, just like the young men had attempted to do. This made the villagers unpredictable and clearly they were opportunists, even if they were first on the scene they would have sold Bastila to the swoop gang probably for food, meds and perhaps a few luxuries like ale.

"Have any other up-worlders come through recently?"

Shaleena nodded vigorously. "Quite a few people from the surface marched though the village but they never bothered to talk to me. Gendar might know more about them."

"The surface?" Carth frowned. "But this is the surface of the planet."

"Only technically." Skye remarked rebuking the man's tactlessness. "Can you at least tell me what these surfacers were wearing?"

"Um some in silver armor. They called themselves the Sith. And then a swoop-gang."

"How about a Twi'lik girl about your age and a Wookie?" Skye pressed.

"Mission!" Shaleena smiled. "She's sort of a friend of mine. She doesn't like the village but she stops to talk to me sometimes when she and her Big Z go beyond the gates. Sometimes she brings me food. She likes to explore down here though since the rakghoul infestation she isn't around that much anymore it's too dangerous."

"When did she pass by last?" Carth asked.

"I can't say, I wasn't here if she did but…"

"Let me guess Gendar will know more." Skye tossed out.

Shaleena blushed. "Sorry."

"Don't worry about it. I guess I should go talk to Gendar."

"Oh." The teen's voice became deflated. "You're going now? Um okay well if you ever need anything or just want to talk come back and see me. I hardly ever get a chance to talk to someone from the up-world. Oh but before you go… what is it like, the up-world?"

Skye opted not to tell her of the squallier of the Lower-city or the snobbish depravity of the Upper-city dwellers. So she full out lied. "It's very beautiful."

Rounding the first bend in the row of lean-tos an ancient wheezy voice called out to them, in a tone that still hinted of command and respect.

Cautiously Skye moved for the entrance of the tent to see an aged man hunched over a small lantern with shall along his skeletal body. Her instincts told her this man was no threat, but he wasn't harmless. By the look of his face -this could only be Rukil Wrinkle-skin.

"Is this the time of destiny then? Are you a portent of the salvation of my people? Or are you just another false sign to lead us from the true path? Are you the herald of prophecy or another false sign? Tell me what fate you unleash upon us! Salvation or damnation? Speak up-worlder!"

Skye reevaluated her instincts. Religious fanatics were not one to trust, add a bit of lunacy to the recipe and you've got a handful of trouble. Still her gut said to trust this one. "Uk okay. Could I ask you a few questions?"

"A question. You are confused, bewildered, perplexed. Understandable, I suppose. Even after a hundred years of life, I myself become befuddled at times. My name is Rukil, the oldest Outcast in the village. Rukil Wrinkle-skin the children sometimes call me."

"Be careful this ones just crazy enough to be dangerous." Carth whispered warning.

"I am Skye Ravensong. What do you want of me grandfather?" She adapted a Nagai term of respect when speaking with a village elder. It was meant to give deference to the aged without losing face.

The old man moved away from the shadows, so the dim light of the lamps fell on his ancient face. It was tight and wrinkled, against his aged bones like old leather. His eyes a pale blue clearly with the on set of cataracts. Had he the access of the up-world, even the lower city this may not have been an issue. After all Gadon had access to artificial eyes.

Skye shifted under the study gaze of the village elder feeling as if he were trying to read her soul as he had been the old data padd still in his hands. "I was once honored for my wisdom. But over time the villagers fell away from the true path until only a single apprentice still followed me. Now she is gone too."

"True path? What does that mean?" Skye wasn't following the conversation well at all and that was something she didn't like.

"No… no not yet. I must be wary. Careful. You maybe a false savior. Do I dare to trust you with my secret knowledge? No, not yet. Not until you prove yourself first."

"Prove myself?" the Nagai was thoroughly confused now. "How can I do that?"

"My apprentice is lost. I sent her out into the Undercity to find… I can't tell you. Not yet. Sadly my apprentice has not returned. Please up-worlder will you help an old man? Will you seek out my apprentice in the Undercity? Her name is Malya. I must know of her fate whatever it may be. I must know what became of her." This wasn't the one of a master but a pleading father.

Despite not knowing what religious true path this man spoke of, Skye couldn't find it in herself to deny him this one request. They were already looking for three lost souls what was a fourth?

"It will be difficult, she could be anywhere in the Undercity. But if you find her I will know you are to be our true savior. Only then can I revel my secrete knowledge to you."

"I'll be back if I find anything." Skye promised.

"I wish you luck up-worlder. Come speak to me once again, once you have discovered the fate of my apprentice."

Carth yanked her roughly aside once they were clear of ear-shot from Rukil. "We don't have time for this little odyssey, Ravensong."

The scout ripped her arm free. "Yeah? You're the one who said he was crazy enough to be dangerous. Maybe it's just me but I like the keep the crazy ones all nice and calm. If I had said anything different he might have gone off in a rage. While we're looking for Mission and Zaalbar we might as well keep an eye out for this Malya, we've lost nothing doing this not even time. And maybe this secrete knowledge of his is actually worth having. Look, I don't have some messianic delusions about being his lost savior. All we're doing is looking for some lost kid. If she isn't rakghoul meat, or in the custody of the Sith she maybe bunkered down waiting it out until she has a clear run back here to the village. Hell she might have even seen Mission."

"You do have a point." Carth admitted. "I've been wondering why you ask all those questions of people. Don't you get sick of doing it and just want to get on with the mission?"

"For the _last_ time fly-boy I'm a fracking _scout_! It's my job … my mission to seek out information. Sometimes the easiest way to do that is to simply ask questions, even if they are redundant. Information from one sentient will vary from another. Look at all the Intel we got on Davik Kang. You can't just stormtroop into things and bully people with hair-trigger anger. You have to be subtle and milk the information. It's what I do and I'm good at it! So you want get off my back or do you need a fracking ladder to do it?"

Carth held a sheepish expression. The military had always relied on scouts like Skye. How could he become angry with her tactics just because they seemed so very tedious at times? He never had the patients she displayed when dealing with people, not even before the war when everything changed for him. In his own scouting mission of three days while Ravensong was out cold he didn't gather nearly as much Intel she had with only an hour sitting with a woman like Dia.

"Okay Beautiful, lead on."

"Back to 'Beautiful' not 'Sister'?

Carth grinned.

Skye smirked and chuckled under her breath. '_Males. They are the same. They always think you are weaker than they and always think you will find them sexually attractive. Fools!'_ They made for the tent opposite of old Wrinkle-skin saying nothing more.

The male within the tent was a tall dark skinned human. Well built given the condition of the village he seemed to be in relative good health. This was obviously the much referred to Gendar. He waved to them as soon as she saw them. "Greetings Up-worlders. We rarely see your kind here in the Undercity. It seems so strange that so many of you have come so recently."

'_And we have gold_.' Skye thought.

"No office but I can see why people normally avoid this place." Carth said without thought.

"Oh that was very tactful." The scout whispered chidingly. "Way to establish a rapport."

Gendar must have heard her as he gave her an appreciative look. "Why have you come here into the dark and sunless place?"

'_A poet._' Skye mused. '_Could be useful. Means he's open to suggestion_.' Once more Skye felt the phantom nudging of an old blind woman advising her on how to handle this male or in fact anyone in this village_**. 'Use their dependence to better your objective, make them indebted to you and they bend to your will-your indoctrination. Use it to strengthen yourself, your cause your mission**_.' The ghost whispered to her. And so Skye did. "You said something about other up-worlders. I ask, who has come by recently?"

"Our village has seen many visitors."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

It was the pleas from a frantic young woman at the gates to the sewers that caught both Republics' attention. "Hurry Hendar! Hurry!"

"He'll never make it. He's already dead. I told him, he was a fool for leaving the village."

"He WILL make it! Run Hendar, run"

From the Republics vantage pong they could see a man presuming-ly Hendar racing for his very life beyond a thick durasteel gate. Behind him charged hideous pale creatures, their gaping maws slathering in ichors and blood. They were the rakghouls.

Hendar's legs and arms were pumping for all he was worth as he called out in great gasping breaths: "Open the gates, quickly. There isn't much time!"

"Aurgh! I can't, Hester! The rakghouls are too close."

"The mutants will kill him if you don't open the gate!" Hester wailed.

"And if I open the gate they will kill us all."

"NOO! You can't do this! This isn't fair!" she wept. She fell to her knees begging the guard to just give her beloved a chance.

The guard would not be moved by her pleas though it was evidently clear from his expression he wished he could. He was in charge of the village's safety to compromise it even for the life of a friend wasn't something he was going to do. He kept apologizing but held firm in his duty.

Skye respected that. She even agreed with it. However that didn't mean the poor man on the other side had to die so that others could live. "We'll kill the rakghouls," Skye told the gatekeeper

Relief flooded the man's face. "You'd risk your life for a stranger? You're very brave Up-worlder. I'll open the gate but not for long. He's got a few seconds then I must close it, again. I'm sorry but I can't risk the village."

"Understood. Now just open it."

Almost immediately after they passed through the gate the terrified man rushed past them into the waiting arms of his young wife. The gate slammed shut with an ominous clang leaving Ravensong and Onasi to face the hideous creatures.

They were bipedal yet ran on all fours not unlike a great ape. It was as if all the malevolence of a sentiment's soul had become personified in the pale hairless creatures. Their wide fang filled maws dripped with pale green viscous drool. Guttural howling pain racked roars of rage and hunger filled the air in their torment.

"Frack me." Skye uttered trying to push down the gage reflex the foul odor the beasts admitted had caused. She slid her twin Echani blades from their sheaths and connected and locked them at the hilts to create a double-bladed vibrosword.

Despite having watched Skye in the arena Carth was still struck with amazement how expertly she handled the weapon. She spun it around her body and over her head was if it were a mere extension of her own body, her soul. Her actions were near Jedi like in form and execution. The blades whistled as they cut a swath through the air. Had her enemies been sentient they might have drawn back intimidated. The rakghouls advanced heedlessly into the arching swings of the blades. Carth watched with awe struck admiration, she moved just as she had during the matches. She was sublime, how can anyone not a Jedi move as she had even if she was a Knife?

Skye's command over the blades ripped into corpse gray flesh of the rakghouls two fell at her first strike an uppercut of the opposite blade tore into two more bodies. That left Carth with the two of the remaining beasts within the pack. Their heads exploded in grey-green ichors as they toppled to the ground.

The immediate threat vanquished the gate was opened with very grateful Outcasts profusely issuing their gratitude. The young frantic woman cooed to her husband that she would take care of him, that everything was going to be all right now as she escorted her love back into the encampment proper.

The gatekeeper was astonished that outsiders would not only risk their lives for complete strangers but had done so without any hope of a reward.

"I can't thank you enough for saving my life up-worlder. If I had anything but the cloths on my back, it'd be yours."

Hester clutched her weary husband tightly about the arm, unwilling to let him go now that he was once again safe at her side. "I have you Hendar, that's all I need."

The two Republics watched as the couple hobbled back to the main hub of the village.

The gatekeeper turned his attention back to strangers, "Thank you for saving Hendar's life. You're braver than I. Many of us outcasts lived too long in selfish fear. Perhaps we can learn a lesson from your brave actions. Hurumph, but enough of my ramblings. I am Trewn one of the gate-guards. It's my job to see that they remain strong and shut against the rakghouls."

"Then you must have seen patrols of other up-worlders: swoop gang-bangers, Sith, Davik's people."

"Yes, I have. I had to let them all pass or they would have killed me and just left the gates open so the rakghouls would invade the village."

"Often there are little choices for anyone to make but to capitulate to the circumstances at hand. Carth and I are in such a circumstance ourselves. But tell me, have you seen Mission Vao a very young blue skinned Twi'lek and her Wookie companion Zaalbar?"

"Sometime ago yes."

"We have to find them; did they give any indication where they were headed?"

Trewn shook his head, "Sorry. But, knowing those two probably the sewers. But why go there I don't know. The rakghouls infestation seems strongest there. Good luck to you. And thank you for what you've done for us."

Skye simply responded, "It's what we do." then departed back though the gates.

Silent and foreboding the vast expanse of the Undercity lay before the Republics. A sudden sense of utter abandonment fell over the young scout. It was as if the whole of the world was dead, the soil beneath her feet was impotent to grow any life, the grasses that did push their way they were abominations that refused to give up the ghost of life they clung to.

The dim hazy glow of lighting panels made the area seem far more surreal, unnatural post-apocalyptic. It was like some holovids rather than true life. How could anyone scrape life it this wasteland?

A matter of thirteen minutes passed when a cry of despair and the thudding footfalls upon the dead earth rushed for their position.

"Please, you've gotta help me! Nobody else will, even the Beks won't help me now! But I can't just leave him, he's my friend! You'll help me won't you?"

The diminutive Twi'lek girl rushed towards them as if a pack of rakghouls were nipping at her heels. A likely outcome but fortunately the abominations were not giving chase.

It looked however as if she had seen her deal of trouble. The scout's eyes quickly noticed the tan vest she wore was dirtier than it had been in the cantilena, and there were new bloodstains upon it. Their girl's face wasn't any better, dirty and streaked with tear stains. She all but threw herself into Skye's arms.

"Mission. We've been looking for you." Skye said trying to dislodge the teenager from her full body hold. "What happened?" the Nagai asked attempting to use a more tender tone in her voice she used when speaking to a terrified mark.

"It's Zaalbar! He's in trouble, big trouble! If we don't help him, they'll sell him into slavery!

"Calm down Mission," cooed Skye, touching the blue skin of the girl's cheek. "Take a deep breath, calm yourself, and tell me what happened. We can't help Zaalbar if we don't know what happened. And you can't help him either."

The girl nodded and did as ordered. She still held onto Skye as if she was her lifeline to sanity. "Me… me and Zaalbar were just wandering around here in the Undercity, you know looking for stuff we could find. You know just kinda exploring. We do it all the time!"

"I guess with a Wookie by your side, you figure you can handle the odd rakghoul attack," said Carth not unkindly.

"But this time they were waiting for us! Gamorrean slavers. We didn't even have time to break for it. Big Z threw himself at them and roared for me to run! I… I took off. I figured that Big Z could handle them, but there were too many. They're going to sell him to a slaver I just know it!"

"Do you know where they took him?" pressed Skye.

"I don't know for sure. But those Gamorreans like to hang out in the sewers. The stink reminds them of home I guess. That's probably where they took Big Z."

Skye nodded. "Right. Makes since, it's also definable position. If you can slice into the controls for the bunker doors you can effectively control the flood of traffic from the rakghouls to customers to intruders. Smart."

"I never thought Gamorreans were that intelligent." Carth commented.

"Yeah well they can be tricky buggers when they want to be. But than so can a trapdoor spider doesn't mean they're intellects." The scout turned to Mission. She allowed a smile upon her face in order to bolster the younger woman's confidence. "Alight. If we help get Zaalbar back you have to me and Carth get into the Vulker Base."

Mission bobbed her head ardently. "It's a deal as soon was we get Bing Z back, I show you the way. They have a secrete entrance into the compound in the sewers anyway. Now come-on we have to find Zaalbar before they sell him to slavers or worse!"

"Now that's handy." The scout took a good hard look at mission. "Hold up Kiddo. You're going to need something more than that blade you have on your hip. Take this." Skye unfastened the holster of her blaster from her belt and leg and handed it over to Mission. "Carth give her that Sith armour we took for Bastila. She can't wear the helmet obviously but it'll give her more protection than that tack vest she's got on. Besides that thing has seen better days."

For a moment it looked as the commander was going to protest about the prospect of handing over their last set of Sith armour to the kid but Ravensong had a point. Canvas trousers, a flimsy cotton shirt and tack vest was no match against rakghoul clawers or Gamorrean axes. The kid was going to need protection if she was going to survive the Undercity's hospitality.

It didn't take long before Mission was suited up in the shinning sliver armour. Fortunately it was made for a smaller woman's body and fit her relatively well. As for the blaster she gave Ravensong a rather curious look before she strapped it around her waist and buckled the leg stapes that would keep from slapping against her thigh as she ran.

"But all you have now are blades. Okay a lot of them but still…"

"I'm more comfortable with them. Blasters seem so clumsy and random. A blade in the right hand is a far superior weapon in both finesse and elegance."

The companions now numbering three began their hike towards the entrance making double time knowing Zaalbar was in desperate need of rescue and most probably medical aid. Even as they moved the conversation continued.

"You sound like a Jedi. Kinda like Zayne." Mission had a slightly dreamy look to her as if recalling a childhood crush. "Only he wasn't so eloquent. He was sorta awkward but in the good cute way. He had this thing, sorta like the Force gave him special luck but in order for it to work he had to be clumsy."

"Yep that sounds like Zayne."

"You knew Zayne!" Mission sounded perky for the first time since time encounter.

"Sure did. Though I think most of his bad luck came from his buddy Gryph. That kid had a lot of heart. I still can't believe…"

"Shut it both of you." Ravensong hissed. "We've company."

Ahead were several men including the Mandalorian hired gun Canderous. One of the mercs raised his carbine rifle at them. So petrified of his soundings he was physically shaking. Sweat beaded upon his upper lip and poured down his brow.

"Don't… don't move. I'll shoot you if I have too!" squeaked the quavering man.

"Settle down," said Canderous, knocking the carbine's muzzle down, "The last thing we need is more casualties from a needless firefight." The merc ran a critical eye over them.

"From the look of you I'd say that you're down here for the same thing as we are; to salvage something from those Republic space pods. Here's some friendly advice: Go back right now."

Skye snorted her contempt. "Are you threatening us?"

"Mandalorians don't make threats. We make promises. It's not us you should be worried about. It's those damn rakghouls."

"I'm not impressed with the posturing, old man. Wasn't during the war, and I'm not now. Your lot are nothing but goon squads for hire ever since Revan took Mandalor's head."

The Mandalorian glared at the young woman. "You can handle yourself with a blade; I've seen your fights, so I'll just forget your lip for now, Nagai pup. But don't think I'm too old to pop you one in that mouth of yours before you even draw your weapon."

"Canderous!" cried out one of the other hired guns. "I heard something! Over there, in the shadows. Sounded like a rakghoul…"

"Get those blasters ready boys!" shouted Canderous. Even as he had given the order a fresh pack of the mutated creatures pressed down upon them.

The battle was practically over before it was finished. Skye danced with sword, Mission, Carth and the mercs gunned down swarm but not before one of the rakghouls tore into the man who had first threatened the companions.

"Damn it! Lost another one." Canderous growled. "This is getting ridiculous. I've already lost half-dozen men to these monsters. Davik's boys just aren't trained for this and I can't baby-sit them all. All right boys, let's get going. I can't carry all this salvage back by myself."

Canderous's crew started their long hick back to the lift each toting quite a heavy haul of salvage from the crashed pods none of which looked like a body bag or for that mater anything that could carry a body. Bastila wasn't in their hold. Skye didn't know if that was a blessing or not. She looked at the corpses of the mutants and the mauled body of the merc with deep foreboding. She couldn't help but offer a cursory pray to the Night Mother that amongst the bodies of rakghouls the Jedi wasn't one of them.

The Mandalorian offered one last departing comment: "Hey, take my advice Pup: Leave while you've still got all your parts intact."

"That I cannot do. I made an oath."

"Just watch you're self, kid."

Without preamble, Skye searched the dead merc slipping a few credits he had on him into one of the pouches on her utility belt along with a couple of medical epis, anti-venom and his blaster. The later she tossed to Mission.

"Once we find Zaalbar, he'll need a weapon."

"He's got a bowcaster." the girl said. "But…um…I guess the Gamorreans will have taken that off him. Probably no telling if we will recover it."

"That's my thinking." Skye nodded. "Alright people lets move out."

As the trio came nearer to the sewer internee the stink of the place grew more and more omnipresent. It felt like a slick thick coat of the stench cloyed around them like slim

"Hey Carth," asked Mission braking up the silence that had fallen over them, "You're a pilot for the Republic right? You've been all over the galaxy right? So tell me, how do you rate Taris compared to other worlds you've seen?"

"To be honest Mission, Taris would rate pretty low. The rich spoiling themselves while the poor starve and fall prey to the rakghouls, it's not a pretty picture."

"Yeah, but that's only since the Sith occupation. Before that… well I guess it was pretty much the same. Hmm, I guess Taris… aint as great as I thought you know?"

"Trust me Mission, there are a lot of worlds better than Taris, there are worse too, but Taris is no place to for a kid to grow up. Even one who's got a Wookie by her side."

There was something forceful in Carth's last statement, filled with chastisement and regret. It was not perhaps the best thing to say to a high spirited street urchin. But then wisdom and words didn't actually seem to be Carth's strong suites.

"Hey I aint a kid! And I look out for Big Z as much as he looks out for me. I ask you a question and you give me a lecture!"

"Don't you snap at me missy! You want a lecture, how's this? Only bratty little children fly off the handle because of a simple comment."

Skye couldn't help herself but burst out laughing at the irony of the man's statement. Since their forced landing on Taris the human had done nothing but fly off the handle at practically every thing Skye had done or said in the line of a scout's duty.

"You going to take that shit from him Mission?" she jibbed. "You know he should introduce himself as Mr. Kettle, Miss Pot." she chuckled.

"What?" Carth snapped. "What are you saying I'm childish?"

"Simply stating a fact, Tantrum Boy." Skye mocked him by waving her arms about frantically.

"She's right! I don't have to listen to you Carth! You aint my father, though you're sure old enough to be! So keep your lectures inside your withered old head, 'cause I don't need 'em!" Mission snarled.

"And I sure as hell don't need this! Let's just get back to what we were doing."

"You go girl!" Skye praised the younger woman. "I've been wanting to do that for several days now. Only as the ranking officer he can go and tattle to the Fleet how bad the little scout has been. And after we rescue Bastila, I'm cooling my heels in the brig for insubordination."

"Human shutta." Mission scowled.

"Out of the mouths of babes." Skye muttered under her breath, a smirk still on her face.

"What the hell are you trying to do Ravensong?" Carth moved past Mission snatched Skye by the arm and wrenched her around yet again.

Skye grasped hold of his forearm and drew her arm clockwise encircling his own arm in a twist that if any more pressure was exerted it would hipper extend his elbow. It was a swift self defense more to get out of an arm hold. Her left hand held one of her honor blades to the commander's throat

"Touch me like that again Flyboy and a broken elbow will be the least your problems!" the Nagia snarled. "I'm no slave you can yank around or your woman you bed after you beaten her into submission. You want to write me up go and do it. I'm sick of your shit and sick of you thinking you and grab me anytime you feel like it!" She let go of her reverse hold and re-sheathed her dagger, her eyes however never left her prey.

Mission simply stared at the two dumbfounded, but wisely decided to stay out of the argument that obviously been brewing for quite some time.

Carth clutched his throbbing arm felt the world drop from beneath his feet. All the rage he felt for the Nagia fell away from him as he digested the words she had spoken. Never once had he laid an abusive hand upon him beloved wife. To have someone think that of him…to have _her _think that of him was incongruous. Was that how she truly saw him as someone who was abusive? He'd never strike a woman…or a child…not like she had inferred. And yet she accused him of such onerous acts all the same.

Skye snorted in contempt as she turned from him and headed for the sewers. Mission gave one last look to the shocked human before darting after the scout. A few moments latter Carth followed.

He remained completely silent as he brought up the rear. His mind chewing over the words Skye had said. He lingered over and over the times he had made physical contact with her. It was obvious she saw not the tender healing he had administrated just after the crash but the many times he had grabbed the woman by the arm, yanking her around scolding for doing her job. Was it any wonder her patience had waned? Was it any wonder she believed him a brute?

The closer the proximity to the sewers the attacks of the rakghouls increased. By this time they were had established a fairly good routine to handle it. While Mission and Carth held them off with a barrage of blaster fire, Skye volleyed adhesive and frag grenades as swiftly was able before the mutants broke through the line and came into melee range. Then she let lose with a vengeful rage.

It was during one of these attacks that Ravensong noticed a corpse dressed in Outcast rages. It was curled in a fetal position: a natural reaction to protect ones self. It was futile attempt against something as mindless and vicious as a rakghoul.

Ever the survivalist Skye had no qualms about searching the corpse for anything the team could use in their fight to find the mission Wookie and Jedi. Not to mention they were on the look out for old Wrinkleskin's lost apprentice.

Tenderly she turned the body of the young girl over; she didn't seem that much older than Shaleena who had met them at the lift entrance. Clutched to her chest was very old, severely out of date datapad. It was the journal Rukil had spoke of.

The rakghouls were not the only obstacle blocking their path into the sewers. They were halted by a Sith patrol. Carth as trigger happy as ever prepared himself to blast they way out. Fortunately due to the security code give to them by Gadon and Skye's silver tongue and her reputation of being the Mysterious Stranger, she was able to create a quick cover story about being a civilian patrol hired by the commander at the Sith Base for a search and rescue operation. It was ironic considering that was exactly their two fold mission: search and rescue Big Z so they could recover the stolen exhilarator. The troopers left them without so much as a shot being fired or suspicions raised.

"Oohh shiny!" said Skye as she snatched a vial of emerald liquid form the corpse of a dead Sith near one the housing of one of the infrequent lighting fixtures. "Guess they decided not to search the body. Good for us, bad for them." She smirked.

"The Doc will be happy to have that." Carth said pleased something good finally came to them. "How many did you find?"

"Enough for the good ol' Doc to synthesize more, not to mention to keep us immunized, and a few more to give to the Outcasts in case they need it. Hey we may even get merit badges for a good deed." she offered with fresh levity that had been missing in her demeanour for the past day and half.

She handed Carth one of the epis as well as Mission and one for herself. All three in turn slammed them into the veins in their necks allowing the medication to flow throughout their body. At least now if they were attacked by the rakghouls all they had to worry about was minor toxicity and the lacerations if their mutants' clawed made it past their reinforced armour.

The hard bitter cloying truth of it…the sewers stank.

"Augh…how in the hell did you stand this stink, Mission?" Carth grumbled trying to block the odorous stench with the sleeve of his arm. He swallowed hard pushing down the bitter taste in his mouth as his gorge rose threatening to purge his stomach of his last meal.

Skye was in total agreement. The stink was intolerable; she kept sneezing as if to rid her nose of the vileness.

"You can learn to ignore it after awhile like Big Z or…" the kid smiled, "you can use olfactory blockers." she tapped the side of her nose. "Guess you didn't think of everything when you came down here, huh?"

"Yes well Gadon could have warned us of this wonderful smell." Skye's voice dripped with sarcasm. "Probably Zaerdra's idea not to."

"Oh she's okay. She just gets a little cranky and a bit protective about Gadon. They're practically married, you know." Mission shrugged.

"Yeah, we noticed." this came from Carth.

Despite Gadon's lack of proper warnings about the Undercity, he was right on the money about Mission, Skye mused. The kid did know her way around the sewer tunnels and pipe networks. Frighteningly well. Despite some of the detours the companions still crossed into warrens of rakghouls and Gamorreans that littered the mazes harassing their progress with each step they made.

Spinning and turning the Nagai cut through mutant and green-skinned swine alike. She was utterly and completely in her element. Carth watched her closely, she was in a daze. Again she reminded Carth of the ways of a Jedi. But then the young woman has spent all of her childhood and youth in a Nagai monastery learning the marital arts of the Knives.

If rumors were too believed, the Nagai were just as diligent and taskmasters of perfecting their marital training as the Jedi Order. Hell their whole religion centered around the philosophy of the sword: its forging, is use in battle even its resting within the sheath. So why should it be remarkable that Skye moved as eloquent and as graceful as she did? Hell Carth thought even when she accidentally slipped on a bit of entrails she did it with finesse making it look as if it had been very deliberate on her part.

Skye made a physical effort to keep an eye out for Rukil's remaining lost journals. Of course those that once possessed them would be skeletal remains by now being nothing but rakghoul chow. Perhaps not the most politically correct phrasing but that was the cold hard truth of it.

Her diligence paid off, two more of the old man's journals were recovered. One was behind a few landmines that Mission not only deactivated but recovered.

"You never know when you might need a mine or two." Mission smirked causing Skye to chuckle

"You know I said the same thing not too long ago. Gotta like the way you think, Mission. And you're right we may need them to brake into whatever fortification they have Zaalbar if we can't slice it. Activated at the right distance the mine shouldn't put in him into any danger while at the same time comprising the structural integrity of the door."

"That might work, wreaking it just enough for the Wookie to break open." Carth surmised. "Considering what we've seen of these doors it won't take much."

"Exactly."

Trudging through the maze it took them another hour and half and a dozen more nests of Gamorreans; they came across a door that caught Mission's attention.

"Hmm, this is one of those old-style manual locks. No electronics to slice or nothing. The sewers is the only place you'll find stuff this ancient, but don't worry, I know how to pick 'em," Mission said. "We don't have to use the landmine either."

"Go to it girl." Skye ordered.

A few seconds latter the decrepit door opened in inorganic metallic pain. A growl erupted that sounded nothing like the porcine grunts or mutated howling screeches.

Something large, furry and very very angry charged them.

"Whoa, Big Z!" Mission yelped. "It's good news this time."

'Mission, is that you?' Zaalbar grunted 'You're a sight for sore eyes."

"Glad to see you too Big Z!" giggled Mission, "You didn't think that I'd forget you? Mission and Zaalbar, together forever!"

'Who's that with you?' asked Zaalbar.

"These are my new friends who helped me rescue you Big Z!" said Mission. "Remember them from the cantina? It was Skye's doing. Without her I wouldn't have made it this far. Oh Carth helped too."

'Good to see you're well, Zaalbar.' Skye greeted him in his own language.

'You understand my language? That is rare for a member of your species. I am impressed. You have saved me from a life of enslavement and the only way to repay such a deed is through a life debt,' growled Zaalbar.

"A Life debt? Are you sure Big Z? Think about this carefully. You better be sure about this," said Mission.

'I am sure Mission. On my home world, my people are being used as slave labor because of our great physical strength. They see us as brutes and animals to be exploited. When the Gamorreans captured me, I thought that I was doomed to a life of servitude. I have been saved from such a fate and the only way to repay that kindness is to swear a life debt.'

"Wow! Big Z swearing a Wookie life debt to you. This is… this is major! Do you realize what this means, Skye?" asked Mission

"It's an honor code isn't it? Some sort of pledge?" she didn't take her blue eyes off of the hulking form before her.

"A life debt is the most solemn vow a Wookie can make. It means that he'll stay by your side for the rest of your life. Wherever you go, whatever you do, Zaalbar will be with you." Mission's voice took on a note of awe and reverence.

'In the presence of you all I swear this life debt. May my oath be as strong as the great Wroshyr trees of Kashyyyk,' said Zaalbar.

Skye stared up at the wookie in awe. Carth was absolutely agog. He didn't know who having a Wookie in their quest to save Bastila was going to affect things. but there was no going back now.

"I am… I'm honored to accept this vow," Skye murmured and tipped her head slightly to show her own reverence for the reverent moment.

"I guess that means you're stuck with me too. Wherever Big Z goes, so do I! I guess I also still owe you one secret path into the Vulkar base."

Skye opened her mouth as if she was going to say something, but then changed her mind. "The sooner we get this over with the sooner it gets done." she said awkwardly.

"I second that." Carth commented. "If the base smells any better then this slime pit it'd be an improvement."

"I better come with you. The Vulkars set up a force field to block off the way and I just happen to be one of the few non- Vulkars who knows the access code. I picked them off the pocket of a Vulkar who had a little too much to drink at the Cantina. After the field their base is only a little further beyond. I only hope the Rancor monster isn't still there," said Mission.

"Rancor monster?" Skye called out. "You've got to be joking."

"How in the hell did one of those things get down here?" Carth asked incredulously.

"Probably left over from when the Mandies were here." Skye said offhandedly. "No doubt a security measure or a plaything. You can never tell with Mandies. When they pulled out they left Fido behind."

"So does any of your scouting skills tell you how to get past Fido?" pressed Carth only half joking.

"Yeah, don't get eaten."

"I snuck by it once wearing my stealth belt." Mission piped up. "If that helps."

"Good idea." Skye touched the belt she was wearing. "That actually could work. And the sewer stink clinging to use will help mask our individual scents.

"Yeah um hello did you forget us?" Carth pointed to himself and Zaalbar. "Four people and two belts, and besides that I've never seen a Wookie wear anything more than a bandoleer."

'I wouldn't be able to wear one anyway.' Zaalbar said. 'They don't make them for Wookies.'

Skye nodded there was that. "Mission, are you sure that is the only way in?"

"Yeah, sorry."

"Alright, we'll make our way there and try think of something. If nothing else, I and Mission can activate out belts lay all the landmines she recovered and hopeful we can get Fido to step on them."

"That's your big plan?" Carth scoffed. "Seriously? You're going to risk the life of the kid and plant landmines?"

"You don't have the skills for stealth, Flyboy and besides she's already snuck by it once, she'll be able to do it again. I believe in her abilities."

Mission positively beamed at the Nagai's praise.

'Are you sure mission?' Zaalbar's grunted worriedly.

"Yeah, I'm sure, Big Z. We move careful; don't do anything stupid we can pull this off. I just know it." Mission was still grinning from her hero's confidence in her. "And I ani't no kid, Carth. I told you that before. I don't hear you coming up with any other solution."

_That's because there isn't one_. He thought. It was the best option. Even with all the fire power at their disposal they would not be able to down a rancor. Its hide was thick as a ship's hull and the bones like durasteel; it'd take the blast of several landmines or a lightsaber to even make a dent in the damn thing. And they didn't have a lightsaber or Jedi to wield it even if they had one of the legendary swords

"Alright, we go with Fido and the Big Bang. You're both right, it is our only option. Too bad we don't have a massive vertical door we can just slam on its skull and crush it to death."

Skye laughed. "I have to admit, if we did, I'd go for that option. Ah, Mission there isn't a massive vertical door is there?"

The teenager shook her head. "No sorry. They're all like the others: opening side-to-side" she pantomimed the action of the doors they had encountered thus far during their sewer trek. "Or the few that do go up-and-down are not huge and won't crush a rancor's head even a little bit."

"Then we're back to Operation: Fido Big Bang." Skye shrugged. "And here I was hoping for an easy way out."

The four of them made their descent down the tunnels, led by Mission and Zaalbar's superior nose. It took them another hour or so to reach the door Mission said the where the rancor lay beyond. That was evidently clear by the pure stench of thing.

Both Skye and Carth didn't think anything could smell fowler than the sewers and rakghoul offal but that was very much a mistake.

"Oh gods I think I'm going to throw-up." Carth gagged, dashed for a corner of the tunnels and did just that.

"Why are you smiling, Skye?" Mission asked, she didn't think it had anything to do with Carth being sick, although the girl did find that a bit amusing.

"It suppresses the gage reflex." the Nagai said. She felt her stomach churn. There was no since in telling the other two that it didn't always work.

'I think the beast has already eaten.' Zaalbar said pointing to a very mangled corpse and a severed arm near the door's threshold.

"Oohh and very recently too. It's still juicy." Mission grimaced.

Skye took one look at the mangled body to discern that the shredded remains was in did a snack for Fido. And apparently contrary to popular believe rancors did not gulp their meals down in one bite. Or if they did they were very messy eaters.

It was the arm was of particular interest to the scout. It appeared it the palm it was holding one to something. It seemed to be small canisters. Skye frowned at first until the Wookie barked at her.

"Really? Pheromones you say?"

"Why would a thug or even a merc want pheromones?" Carth asked. "Especially down here, what did he think it would help in shag some she-rakghoul?"

'Hunting.' Zaalbar grunted. 'Lure the beast into a trap.'

"Perfect! By the Night Mother, I don't know why I didn't see it before!" Skye scolded herself. Then a true smile flashed on her lips. "I've got an idea. One that doesn't involve putting a girl in danger. But for it to work I need all the grenades we have.

"Carth dump everything we have in the pack and then place all those body parts into it. We activate the pheromone canisters. Fido takes a chump and big bang his stomach is blown: no more Fido."

Carth grinned. "Gotta love that idea. Okay, I'll take the pack and go into the lair…"

"Still not skilled in stealth, Flyboy." Skye chastised man though this time albeit playfully. "I'll do it." she grinned "Why do you think I gave you the icky job? All I have to do is blow up Fido, not touch mutilated gore."

"Oh very funny, Little Scout. Did I ever tell you, I like your sense of humor?"

"Can't say it ever came up in conversation."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

After blowing up Fido, assaulting the Vulker base seemed relatively easy by comparison. Zaalbar it seemed was actually quite adapt at making repairs on droids, not only was he able to hack into patrol droid mainframes but he managed to turn several of them against their Vulker masters and sent another to ram into the reinforced door at the far end of the garage bay.

That may not have been the best strategy because now thy had to contend with a heavy battle droid, however the noise of the explosion of the swoop bikes, courtesy of Skye's compeer slicing skills it was the Vulkers caught in the crossfire. The war droid, hacked patrol droids and the explosions took out several of the gangbangs in one go.

Slaves were freed; former Vulker gangers made a feeble-token effort to fight back Skye's team but in the end gave up if Skye promised to destroy Brejik. As per SOP bodies were stripped of anything useful: credits, medi-packs, modes for weapons and armors as well as weapons themselves. Along the way both Carth and Zaalbar discovered new heavily reinforced-canvas backpacks in which to store the recovered booty. Zaalbar even chucked in few parts salvaged from destroyed or dysfunctional droids on the claim they might come in handy at a latter time. No one made any objections; in fact the others seemed to make a conscious effort to contribute to the haul.

In one of the bays, now occupied by two rodian corpses the companions found a workstation, here Skye gave a brief pause and put the new mods too good use.

"Do we have time for this?" Carth groused.

Skye gave him a look of mild annoyance but continued working on the guns. She placed scopes, beam splitters and energy cells on both of Mission's pistols and Zaalbar's bowcaster. On the latter she also implanted a hair trigger.

On her own vibrosword she incorporated a durasteel bonding alloy as well as an energy projector she took off of a dead ganger. The armor mods were going to have to wait until they got back to the Bek base. Where they indeed had more time and where talking off the armor to install them wasn't suicidal.

"I've got an extra scope and hair trigger, Flyboy you want them?"

"Sister, I do my own installs."

"Then have at it. Unless of course you don't think we have the time." Skye smiled teasingly.

He smiled back with a slight shrug to his shoulders.

The pause in battle actually was a two fold action on Skye's part. She knew her team needed to catch their breaths as they've been on the go and in near constant conflict ever since they passed the gates of the outcast village. Carth would have known it too if he could for one moment see past his conspiracy-paranoia obsession that everyone he met was going to stab him in the back as well as his constant drive to find their missing Jedi.

A team functioned in precision if all members were hale and hearty or they fell by their weakest member's strength. In this case it was Zaalbar still weak from his imprisonment with the Grammarians.

Wounds were tended to with kolto shots; protean bars were tore in to and devoured. From the kitchen canteens were filled with relatively fresh water. The few minutes of reprieve did wonders for the effectiveness of the team. Carth could have slapped himself in the head for forgetting such a vital tactic of team survival

'Too long in the pilot's chair, Onasi, to let basic fundamentals slip you. She's right we needed the rest. The installs were just a ploy. Good girl, Ravensong.' he praised her hidden agenda. He knew if she insisted they rested outright Zaalbar would drive himself probably right into death just to prove that he was still a capable warrior. A Wookie with a wounded pride was not healthy to the one who had done the injury.

He caught her eyes and nodded his understanding of her motives. She only mimicked his shrug from earlier. A few moments latter they continued the hunt.

The four of them swept through the rest of the complex neutralizing the remaining Vulkers that stood between them and the accelerator.

The companions' greatest opposition came from a Twi'lek named Kandon Ark, apparently he was in command of the Vulkers when Brejik was away. Skye's swift toss of a plasma grenade halted any words he was about to spew. As she had in the arena with Ice, the scout vaulted the distance and plunged her blade into his collar bone. This time however her blade was not powered down, the devastating blow wasn't just a crippling one. It had decapitated him. Carth put down his woman with a double quick draw, while Zaalbar and Mission picked off the remaining gangers.

When the room was cleared of all hostiles, bodies stripped of ammo, weapons and tech, Mission took care of the mine securing the accelerator and Big Z with his great Wookie strength hoisted it up upon his shoulder to cart it off to the Bek base. Carth and Skye took point insuring that their egress from the Vulkers' base went unchallenged.

It was almost odd that their path continued to clear of any opposition their whole trek back to Gadon. The guard at the door didn't stop them, even Zaerdra didn't hassle them this time.

"You're back, do you have the accelerator?" Gadon asked when he saw Skye and Carth approach them.

"Hello to you to." Skye folded his arms over her chest. "And as a matter of fact we have. Mission and Zaalbar took it back to your mechanics in the garage." the Nagai starred shrewdly at the man before her, "Okay we held up our end of the deal; we got you your accelerator back. So what about your part of the bargain?"

"Don't worry, I promised that you could ride in the race under the Hidden Beks' banner and I'm still going to let you do that. In fact I'm going to go one better I'll allow one of you to ride the bike with the prototype installed on it," said Gadon.

"Gadon you can't be serious!" cried Zaerdra, "We need one of our best riders on that bike!"

"I agree." said Skye.

Gadon fixed them with a frank stare, his artificial eyes focusing on the warriors.

"You're both wrong. I believe she is fully capable of riding the bike. And I have to be honest with you. There's a reason I'm letting you ride the prototype. It isn't entirely stable. My engineers said that there's a good chance that it could suffer a burn out on the track. But look at it this way. If you win, then we all win. And if you happen to die, then one of my own riders could still come through for me."

"Right, expendable. Looks like you've covered all your bases."

"Heh, you don't get to be leader of a swoop gang unless you know how to work all the angles." Gadon jibbed.

Skye moved swiftly her face almost intimately close to the human's. With her free hand she had drawn her one of honor blades and kept it pointed at Zaerdra "You want to test this kriffing thing to see if it works but with none of your riders lives on the line. It's bantha poodoo if you believe for one fracking moment I think you're doing me a favor here, Old Man!

"You want to use my life like this then I want a bloody fracking grantee from you, human! See if I was the dark and twisty sort of person, I'd order Zaalbar to take the life of your wench here, if one of your riders won and _didn't_ free Bastalia. He swore a life debt to me; I think you're clever enough to know just what that means. He may not like it, he may ask me not to order him to do it, but he will do it.

"Because your word means squat to me, Old Man. I don't know you from the Sith blighters running topside. But to these rabble I'm betting your word is a bond, not only that but law. Am I right?"

Gadon nodded.

"Good. Then this is my 'one better.' You, me and your bitch-hound over here will swear a blood oath. I don't care what race you are, what culture you come from, swearing on blood has meaning. So we're going to play nice and swear on blood, then you order your people that is if they win, set Bastila is free. On that same token…I win, you and yours get the credits from the race as well as anything else. Though we will get first pick of weapons and armor, the rest is yours. I want my girl. It's all I care for." Skye grinned devilishly. "You' don't live the life as a scout with out knowing the angles."

The knife she had been holding at the Twi'lek flipped easily into her hand in the next breath she slammed it hard into the surface of the table imbedding half of it right in the middle of a flyer concerning the swoop race. She then slit her palm on the exposed blade. Gadon nodded and did the same, a glowering Zaerdra followed suite.

"And what of your human-pet, '_Scout_'?" Zaerdra demanded, holding her hand close to her chest, purple blood leaking between her fingers.

"He's not in the race, nor is he under my command. His oath would be inconsequential." Skye waved the question aside as she might a nagging fly.

"He-ey!" Carth protested.

"You are in no position to make those demands, Nagai." Zaerdra snarled.

"Enough Zaerdra. Our guest raises a fair point, we offered no guarantee her captured friend would be restored to her, only that she could ride in the race under our banner. No doubt Ravensong feels used and manipulated right about now, correct?" Gadon said.

"I was played the fool, I don't necessarily respond well to that. It makes me grumpy." Skye tossed out flippantly.

"The oath is sworn." Gadon traced his thumb across the fly mixing the blood of the three in his signature. Skye followed suite. "My people will heed it."

"Good enough for you, Knife?" Zaerdra snarled.

The Nagia smiled. "Yep all good."

"If that's settled then I'll let all of you stay here at the base tonight so Ravensong can get some practice in and tomorrow morning we'll take her out to the track," said Gadon. "Piloting a swoop was one thing, racing one was quite another."

SWSWSWSWSWSWSWSW

Carth and Mission watched as Skye pulled the swoop around the Bek's training track. Her time was increasingly becoming better and better. Her last time placed her at 27:90:03 according to the stop-chrono the young Twi'lek was holding.

"You're really good Skye! You sure you've never raced before?" Mission's bubbly voice cheered as Ravensong approached them in the pit area.

"Nope. Well not unless you consider racing away from a bunch of nasty heavily armed Mandies breathing down your ass counts."

"I don't think that's listed as part of the obstacle course." Carth teased.

"Ah well. Better that way. They are such sticks in mud at parties anyway." Ravensong flashed a rakish grin.

"I have a question for you, though." Carth prompted.

'Here it comes.' Skye thought. "What?"

"Back there with Gadon. Want to explain that little theater job?" He waved his hand in the general direction of the base proper. "They're doing us a favor and you go about treating them like there're criminals. Okay so they _are_ criminals but you treat them like the scum of the earth and treat the Sith with respect. What the hell is wrong…"

"Damn it!" Mission groaned and handed Skye a credit chit. "You just lost me a fiver, Carth. Great."

The pilot gave a stymied if not a disapproving look to both women.

"I bet her and Big Z, it would take you two and half hours ask about what happened with our 'host' and no doubt start bitching me out about it. Zaalbar bet you'd do it as soon as we were in private and Mission…"

"Well, I gave it four hours. I was wagering that the practice racing will have distracted you."

"Glad I can be so damn predictable." he harrumphed.

Skye only smirked. "I'm up ten credits. I'm not complaining. As for the other mater yes it was very necessary. He's using us as fodder, first to get the accelerator back then to test the damn thing on the track. I see the necessity of it, but I'd be damned if we went all that shit just to lose Bastila. One way or another, she's going free.

"That only works if the Beks win." Carth said.

"No. Because anyone else who wins will try to claim their prize, that's were you, Mission and Zaalbar come in. You hit the winner hard and fast and I go for our missing Jedi, hopefully Bastila can lend a hand if she's capable. She's ours. And if the Vulkers manage to win there isn't a Bek that won't want payback anyway. Bastila is still ours. Easy."

"You have this all planned out I see."

"Leave scheming to the schemers, Flyboy. That's what we get paid for. Whatever happens at the race, my gut tells me it isn't going to be very pretty afterwards."

"You're expecting a brawl?"

"Add booze, spice-addled fans and a bunch of pissed off-sore-losing swoopers of course there is going to be a brawl. It's a national sport to gangers. What the hell are you thinking; they're going to play nice in the winner's circle? Please, this isn't the Manaan race trek where everything is kosher. This is the down and dirty. The only way it can be dirtier is if a Hutt was running it. We just have to get our Jedi out of it.

"That blood oath I made Gadon and Zaerdra swear to that you were fussing about, makes sure no Bek will pull a Brejik and turn on us. And they won't especially if they get the credits either way. We only want Bastila."

Try as he might Onasi could not fault the young woman's logic or motives. And she was right Gadon had used them and played them for fools. This was the only guarantee that Bastila was freed.

"You have a point." was all he said. It wasn't necessarily an apology but it'd do.

"Now if you don't mind it's been a very long two days. I need some rest if I'm going to be fresh tomorrow." Skye pushed past him and headed for the small sleeping area Gadon had allotted the two of them.

Sleep however was not restful. Dreams came to Ravensong, of old blind woman, lightsabers and a blonde Jedi and her haunting words echoing whispers deep into Skye's unconscious mind.

'_I would not ask this of you if it wasn't necessary, my Love.' Skye heard herself say._

'_We both know I am not your love. **She** will always be so. I am…a replacement.'_

'_Meetra….' Skye closed her eyes, pushing down the slight irritation and focused on the younger woman's small insecurities. 'Yes. Alright, yes at first you were, she will always have a place in my heart you knew this coming into our relationship. But do not believe for one moment I think of you any less. You are beloved. Can we not enjoy what we share, here and now? We share a Force bond, it can not lie. You can feel my depth of love for you. Can this not be enough?'_

'_It is enough" Came a response. 'Hell if you wanted to form a triad with her, I'd have no objections. Though I suspect the Princess might.'_

_Skye found herself laughing. 'Well that can be worked around. Meetra…this other matter. I need you to lead our forces on Duxan.'_

'_I'd rather fight at your side, have Alex go down. Is he not your second in command? The troops will follow him as easily as they will follow me.'_

'_He doesn't have your skills; I need your battle meditations. I need your gifts of Force bonding. You said it yourself, you made tentative link to Duxan itself. If you can do that and turn the jungle against the Mandies, just think of the possibilities when we reach Malacor! If you link to it as you have with Duxan, we will win this war, Meetra. The Republic can be rebuilt the way it should be. Malacor is the key to it all. But we can not move on it until Duxan is pacified.'_

_The blonde Jedi stared hard at her lover. 'It will be done.'_

'_That's my girl. Now…' Skye's lips curled into a lustful grin. 'Let us make this night one to remember, **my** love' She grabbed Meetra's unruly mane and forcefully kissed her stealing the younger woman's very breath away. _

'_By the Night Mother, Revan I love it when you play rough!'_

Skye bolted upright. Sweat trickled down her body, making her overheated body shiver the coolness of the Bek's sleeping quarters. Bad enough to have libidinous dreams but to have them about the Revanchrist and her blonde Jedi lover….

…And why the hell was she playing the part of Revan?

SWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSW

Dawn broke over Taris. Above the heavily metallic gloom of the Lower City few of the nobility of the Uppercity cared for the big Taris Season Opener. Or at least none that would openly admit it. Several however crowed into the stadium 'slumming' it with plebs of the lower classes.

The Lower City however was a hive of activity, mechanics, races, fan buzzed with excitement. Some patrons of the race were already indulging in the brine of alcohol, fanfare and thrill of the day. It didn't seem at all possible but thousands of beings filled the swoop bike arena by midmorning, jamming into the grandstand seats, crowing onto the viewing platforms, filling the available seats, and spaces. Children hoisted onto the shoulders' of father or uncles to get a better view.

Banners and flags baring the colors of the gangs and races waved overhead, signifying favorites and creating impromptu cheers and jeering sections. Some gangs went as far as to have bands play in their support. Vendors walked the aisles, carrying food and drink. Everywhere excitement and anticipation was building.

Down in the pits the exhilaration was downright palpable.

"You know in the olden days probably way before you were even a kid, Carth," Mission piped up gaining her a frown from the Republic officer, "the riders used to race against each other to be the first over the finish line. But it was extremely dangerous, speed and obstacles aside, they used run into each other more than anything else, and well they died. So one of the jockeys somewhere came up with the idea to do heats instead. Now races go up against each other's times. And the best time wins. A whole lot safer. Might take a little longer to race but it's still fun. Now is all about skill and time, not just who is lucky enough not to get blown up and reach the finish line."

"You know a lot about racing, Mission. You into it or did you just pick it up?" Skye asked.

"Hum…a little of both I think. I like to watch the races, so I read up on its history. Gryph always tried to bet on who had the best stats, and sometimes who had the cooler looking bike, but you have to look at the pilot too. What kind of mood their in and everything.

"Take you Skye even though you never raced before, you're all calm and collected not like Redros over there and he's a long time vet."

Both Ravensong and Carth looked to a Weequay wearing the colors of the Vulkers postured by his sleek bike like a proud father over the birth of an heir.

"What's his story?"

"He's the best the Vulker's have. He's rarely beaten." Mission said.

Even across the pit area the Weequay's boast could be overheard. He was pointing in Skye's direction and laughing, two young doting Twi'lek fangirls giggled at his comments.

"Rancors are rarely so easily beaten too but we felled one yesterday. This will be no different. Though, I think Fido smelled better."

Even Carth laughed at Skye's jest. "Come on Rookie lets get you kitted up, before they kick us out for not being crew."

SWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSW

Bastila's head felt heavy as if she had just woken from a terrible nightmare. The neuro-collar was clouding her concentration; she was barely able to reach any form of meditation. In the fog she could make out the words of the announcer welcoming everyone to the Grand Swoop Racing Season Opener. In the din of the cheers there was a very familiar presence. It was almost strong enough for the Jedi to reach out wither mind and touch. If she could simply hang onto that presence…there was hope.

SWSWSWSWSWSWWSWSWSWSWSW

Skye tuned out much of what the announcer was saying about the race, the greatness and boldness of Taris riders and the legends that came before and currently present. The young woman pulled inward focusing her mind on the aspects of the race, the bike and layout of the course displayed on the great screens all over the grandstand.

She didn't even look up when the words of the announcer introduced Taris's own 'Prince' Davik Kang. She afforded herself no distractions; it was in that quiet moment in her mind she felt as if someone reached out and caressed her very mind almost as a lover would her skin.

Startled her eyes snapped open, scanning the crowd. Who or what touched her? What in the name of the Night Mother was that!

'Hold it together Ravensong. You're only spooking yourself.'

She followed the rest of the racers into the stadium She was so entirely focused on trying to expel the ghost haunting the back of her mind she scarily noticed her name in the lineup. She was third in qualifying heats. It at least gave her a few moments to stabilize herself.

It bothered her that she had been so easily distracted. It could do more than cost her the race it could cost her, her life. Even as she centering her inner-self another mental jolt came as if she placed her hand upon a live wire.

Looking past the grandstand Skye followed the mental tugging to center stage. There placed amongst various offerings of the prize shares of armour, weapons, and a strongbox containing Night Mother knew how many credits was a force cage. Within was a woman barely able to stand. Her head was drooped, her dark auburn hair covering a pale face.

'Bastila!' Skye breathed. So it was the Jedi touching her mind! 'Does she know I'm here? Surely she can't use her powers with that thing on around her neck. But…'

The twinge happened again. This time Bastila did look up and for a moment Skye could have sworn as their eyes met she knew this person as deeply as she knew her own soul.

'_Look, I don't know if you're trying to reach me or what the hell this is but I will get you out of here. I swear it._' the Nagai shouted in her mind hoping that perhaps that the Jedi could somehow hear her.

"Some of our newer racers may not be fully briefed on the rules of the track. As you veterans know the races are conducted in a serious three heats. The first is the qualifying match you must beat thirty-eight seconds. If you can't match it you don't go on. The time to beat after the qualifying match is thirty-five point thirty seconds. Anyone hitting below that claims the winner's circle. In the unlikely event of a tie there will be a breaking heat to determine the winner.

"There are a few accelerator jump pads placed in close proximity to barriers and small debris fields. I don't have to explain, I hope that hitting too many of the barriers not only slows your time but can result in serious injury to yourself, your bike and the possibility of death. Watch what you're doing out there. Good luck to you all." the aged Duros officiate related the rules and expectations.

Skye waited until her name under the Hidden Bek's was called out. She slipped on her helmet and moved her bike into the poll position. Mounting the Lhosan Aerochaser, all fear evaporated as full adrenaline swept into her heart.

She admitted she enjoyed the thrill of a thrust engine and repulser lifts hum beneath her. And according to Ravensong's own personal tastes she always favored the Lhosan speeders over any other bike. Hell if this thing didn't have the blasted prototype accelerator she was half tempted to abscond with it after the race.

Skye stared down the track before her, she had memorized the trail from the map but seeing if first hand with the series of littered debris field placed a whole new prospective into the Nagai. If she hit the boost pads correctly she'd pass right over them, if not…

There was no point on dwelling on the 'if not' all that mattered was beating the thirty-eight second mark.

Hunched down on the bike, Ravensong watched the starting lights blink: red three times, yellow twice. GREEN. She punched it. The bike shot off. She swerved over several boost pads, that catapulted the bike forward, shifting the gears-second, third, then fourth. Skye negotiated between the barriers and debris. The very thrill of the race fueling her blood, accelerating her senses to hyper sensitivity.

Her heart beat in time with the rhythm with the bikes engines. She allowed her instincts to take full control over her actions, every move every pulse.

Bastila felt the surge again. And again she felt the familiar presence. Surely the rider on the bike that had recently sipped past the finish line could not be the one? Surely not! Not here!

Skye looked at the massive display digital display overhead recoding her time. 32.19 seconds, more than enough to make the qualifications. She couldn't help but raise a fist in her own glory. Whooping for joy, the exhilaration of beating the time, and the sure overall fun of it!

The Beks' Ithorian mechanic examined the swoop whilst the other heats were running their course. Despite the fact she had run a good course the news about the bike was not good. If a good time could not be met soon there was a good chance the bike would never make it to the finals. The mechanic need not mention that if the bike didn't make it either did Skye. There was an extreme likelihood she'd never make it out of the race alive.

'Focus on Basilia.' Skye disciplined her mind setting her fears aside. 'Scouts and soldiers die all the time, this is your mission. You must free her. This is your only priority. Personal safety is irrelevant in service to the Night Mother...to...to...the Jedi….' her mind disciplined by years by the Nagia monastery willed the young Knife into action. Her service was pledged to freeing the Jedi. Her death held no consequence if this was achieved.

She achieved an impressive 26:73. Faster than anyone else. For a moment she all but forgotten the reason why she was racing. The pure adrenalin coursing thought her made her feel more alive than she had in a very long time.

The celebration was if not premature – short lived. Redros came in as 25:91 nearly a full second between them. Arrogantly he strutted back to his fellows, smirking at Skye's downfall.

'Do not worry, Nagai, you are an impressive rider you will take the day.' came the deep voice of the Bek's mechanic.

"If the bike holds out that long." She told the Ithorian.

'The accelerator should hold out for one perhaps even two more heats.'

"Great." Skye's lips pulled back into a sardonic grin. "Way to boost the confidence levels, buddy." She looked over to the far end of the pit to the stage were Bastila weaved unsteady on her feet. She had to make the wining time in this last heat, everything hinged on it.

She shifted her gaze to the stands and spotted Mission, Zaalbar and Carth. All three of them were cheering her on. It took the scout by surprise that Carth was giving her that much support. Of course he could be doing it simply to boot morale; many a battle was won or lost due to the levels of a soldier's fighting spirit.

She turned back to the Bastila's cage and for a moment the young scout could have sworn the jedi was looking directly at her. Again Skye tried to shout out in her mind, in hopes Bastila might hear that she was going to be freed. She just had to hang on.

For the third and final time, Ravensong straddled the bike's saddle waiting as red, yellow lights pulsed to green.

'Swerve to the left. Boost pad.' she shifted to second gear. 'Dodge debris to the right boost pad,' the bike shifted gears.

More debris. Skye pulled the bike hard left hitting two boost pads one right on top of the other. Banked right sandwiching herself between more piled debris and a barrier. More boost pads hurtling into faster speeds: she hit the turbo jumping the bike even faster. She torqued to the left avoiding more piles of debris while hitting another boost pad.

The rear of the bike started smoldering, alarms clamoring, Skye all but shouted out the sound. She swerved to the right nearly avoiding running head long into a jagged pile of refuse and struck another boost pad. The world was a smearing blur all blinded out but the singular goal before her.

The bike began to vibrate violently nearly shaking Skye off her seat.

'Come on! Come on!' she screamed. The onboard computer read out blinked 26:51.

Disaster.

Screeching across the finish line the bike's accelerator caught fire. Skye didn't wait she leapt from the saddle, tucked her head in, her hit the pavement hard and tumbled several times before momentum stopped her. She didn't more.

Behind the bike exploded.

She lifted her head, her whole head felt heavy, her eyes unable to focus the dizzying visions before her. She could hear shouts and cries as the fire brigade rushed onto the scene and put out the blaze.

Staggering to her feet, she heard someone shouting out her name, another saying she was the luckiest bastered this side of the Rim, while someone else was trying to tell her to remain still so her injuries could be seen to.

The whole stadium seemed to roar in appreciation of the spectacle before them. More cheers rose up when the felid medic proclaimed her relatively undamaged. Several bruises and a possible concussion, she was damn fortunate to even be alive much less walking about.

Still clearing the cobwebs from her head, Skye tipsily made her way towards the winner's circle. She could feel the eyes of resentful Black Vulkers watching her, though it was another set of eyes watching her that gained her attention.

For the briefest moments she felt Bastila starring at her before she quickly looked away. She heard the announcer call out her time of 25:53 seconds.

'An all time record. No one had that kind of time since Gadon Bek retired nearly a decade ago. Ravensong beat him by three nanoseconds!"

The crowd exploded with cheers and applause. Skye felt the surge of adrenaline sill singing load within her blood. Her heart pounded hard against her chest. It felt as if the very energy of a super nova pulsed within her very soul.

In her cage, Bastila shuddered.

"Champaign, it is great pride to present you with your prize! And to hand it over is Brejik leader of the Black Vulkers.

The man named pushed his way forward. A thin deeply tanned-skinned human male, bore the expression of pure hate and malice. He shoved the announcer away from the podium, his voice weedy clouded with contempt.

"People, hear me!" he cried. "There is something you must know! The winning rider cheated!"

Skye reaming stream of adrenaline blazed white-hot in anger. "You're a damn liar Brejik!" she shouted back.

Brejik snorted "Her swoop bike was equipped with a prototype accelerator! Clearly an unfair advantage!"

"The same accelerator you stole from the Beks in the first place," Skye snapped.

"Because of this Hidden Bek treachery, the Black Vulkars withdraw their share of the prize." There was an immediate uproar at these words.

"Brejik you cannot do that!" said the Duros announcer protested, "It violates all our most sacred traditions, traditions that have been in place far longer than you have been leader of the Black…"

"Old fool! Your traditions are nothing to me! I am the wave of the future! If I want to take this woman and sell her on the galactic slave market, you certainly won't stop me!"

"I might have something to say about that Brejik," an iced voice challenged.

All turned to see the cage snap open catching the guard in front of it on the back of the head splitting his skull. Bastila, held no trace of the weariness from before from around her neck, stooped down and picked up the double-bladed vibro-sword her jailor had wielded.

"You! You were restrained by a neural disruptor! How in blazes could you have possibly summoned the will to free yourself?" cried Brejik.

"You underestimate the strength of a Jedi's mind, Brejik. A mistake you won't live to regret." Bastila's voice was filled with venom.

A mix of horror and hate twisted Brejik's face. "Vulkars, to me!" he screamed desperately. "Kill the woman! Kill the swoop rider! Kill them all!"

The situation quickly degenerated into an all out no-holds-bared battle, not only in the pits but in the stands. Fans, rival gang members and hapless spectators got caught up in the crossfire.

Skye whipped out a concealed blaster, targeted the nearest Vulker, fired and debilitating his shields. Before she slammed her fist into his face, suddenly realizing it was Redros. Without even thinking about it she brought the blaster up under his chin, pulled the trigger watching with detached interested as his head exploded.

She didn't even recall slipping on blood, picking up a blade from one of the fallen swoop gangers and rushing into the foray. Her whole body seemed to be fueled by surges of living energy. The battle she had fought in Ajuur's arena only a few days of ago flooded her mind. Mural, Ice, Twitch…each in turn had given her body momentum and fortitude to win. It was almost if her body was recalling long lost memories. She felled four gangers…then haze filled as smoke in her mind.

**Memories. **

_Clash_

_Thump…thump_

_Yellow gold, blood red lightsabers. _

Skye looked down at her gloved hand expecting to see…what? A single lightsaber…a red one? No it shouldn't be red…and it wasn't just the one…there were two…one viridian…the other purple…no….that can't be right…

Ravensong felt the impact of a blaster hit her shield barriers looking up she saw Brejik pointing a blaster point blank at her face.

"You Nagai whore! You cost me everything! EVERYTHING!" spittle sprayed from his mouth as he screamed at her. "I'll take your hide, cunt!" He threw the blaster at Skye's head with one hand and with the other he detached a long cylinder that had been clipped to his utility belt.

There was a very familiar snap-hiss. From either end of the cylinder golden blades emerged.

"The Jedi bitch is nothing without her toy!" He charged.

Or at least he tried to.

He roared but no sound came out. A gravity well encircled his body rose him into the air in one breath the next he was slammed down onto the battle ground with a slackening wet crunch.

"Fool." Bastila berated the dead man.

Skye refocused her addled mind as studied the Jedi before her with admiration. A beauty and one hell of a fighter too. Impressive.

"Well maybe those bloody Vulkars will think twice about trying to hold a Jedi prisoner. And as for you," she said rounding on Skye, "If you think that you can just collect me as some sort of prize…"

"Hold on there. I think you've got me confused with someone else. My name is Skye Ravensong, I'm here to rescue you."

"Rescue me? Was that what you were trying to do, racing in that swoop competition? Well as far as rescues go, this is a pretty poor example."

Skye was dumbstruck. She didn't just go through the sewers, battled dozens of rakghouls, Grammarians and Black Vulkers and not to mention putting herself on a suicide bike just to be scolded by a petulant Jedi! Maybe Brejik had one thing right after all. Bitch was right. "I think you've got it even more confused. You were a helpless prisoner before I came along."

"And as you saw, I was perfectly capable of freeing myself. I'm sure you've heard of a little thing called the Force?"

'And I thought I was bad with the sardonic lines.' Ravensong shook her head. 'Okay, let's dance shall we?' With the most charming smile she could muster, Skye said: "Actually no never heard of it. Maybe you can explain it to a _mere_ mortal, and you might want to use small words so you can ensure I will comprehend. But I'll leave that up to you, Princess."

Bastila's mouth opened and closed several times. Her gray eyes winded of all the things she thought she might have heard it was not that. "I…what?"

Skye smirked. "Maybe _you_ heard of a little thing called the Endar Spire? I was there and might I add Princess on the behest of _your _Order, Jedi. Starting to ring any bells?"

"The Endar Spire? Are there any more survivors?" the superior tone was back in the slightly befuddled woman.

"I'm here with Carth Onasi."

"Carth Onasi's alive? That's good news. Carth is one of the Republic's best soldiers," she said. "If he sent you here, then there must be something more to you."

Skye glowered.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Skye spirited stride for stride along side the Jedi out of the stadium when she suddenly stumbled over her own shadow. The world around her faded in a haze of swirling consuming fog.

One moment she was rushing out of the arena the next she was on the bridge of starship. Bastila was still at her side. No that wasn't right. Because Skye wasn't even there, she was watching an event. A past event.

_Bastila was onboard a Sith starship, Revan's starship! She was fiercely dueling with dark Jedi, with her own squadron. Bastila was extraordinary: a lioness amongst the rest of the Jedi sheep. She was graceful, fluid-flawless. Her single bladed lightsaber swung in a constant arch, blocking, parrying, each attack of the Sith turncoats. She drew her blade across one dark Jedi's wrist causing him to lose the appendage, his fallen red saber blinked off as rolled away from the dead hand. He fell to his knees screaming at the cauterized stump. The screams stopped abruptly as his head fell near his hand. _

_One of her own fell as she was chocked to death by another Sith's telekinetic power of the Force. The young padawan looked around her noting that she was now down to only her jedi teammates, the squadron of Republic commandos had been felled by the Dark Side of the Force. _

_The last was effortlessly killed by the Dark Lord. Revan cavalierly approached the six Jedi. A snap hiss of two ruby blades shimmered to life. One blade in reverse hold nearly parallel with the Sith's left forearm, the other held above the Dark Lord's head. She had taken the Makashi form: lightsaber to lightsaber. The form favored by the greatest of battlemasters. _

_The Force flowed so easily around the Revan, beckoning, bending to her will. It was so powerful it was palpable as a lover's caress. _

_Bastila swallowed her fear, pushing it away from her. "You cannot win Revan!" she boldly proclaimed, raising her lightsaber. _

_She knew her opponent well. She had trained with Revan in the academy. Her former friend…lover…switched forms flawlessly. It was bewitching to watch, nearly impossible to defend against. Revan would go from Makashi to the more elaborate and demanding Ataru within a hair's breath, then just as suddenly switch to the dueling variant of Djem So. Master Kavar however had trained Bastila for this very battle, how to defeat the former Jedi knight who now called herself Darth. The Light cannot be defeated, Bastlia believed in this axiom whole heartedly. Her battle meditation insured victory. _

_Three other Jedi rushed forward flanking the dreaded Sith Master. _

"_It need not end this way Bastila." Revan said, her voice a menacing mechanical sound behind the Nagai death mask. "Surrender now and I shall show mercy. Resist and death shall surely follow. Even outnumbered I am not outmatched"_

_Bastila was just about to lunge forward, when the Force flared in her mind a warming to black-flipped instead. Bastila's full unrelenting trust in the Force saved her. For that very moment the bridge exploded!_

_The force of the impact huddled the padawan back into the bulkhead behind her. Three of the six remaining Jedi lay dead, crushed by the blast's explosive power. Revan was amongst the fallen. Scurrying over Basilia check for a pulse it was so weak, so thready. If she didn't take drastic measures soon the Dark Lord would die, the mission would fail. Failure was not an option. _

Skye shook her head trying caste the waking dream away.

"What's wrong with you?" Basilia said though not unkindly.

"Nothing." the scout outright lied. They both knew it, but the Jedi allowed the matter to drop.

-KOTOR-KOTOR-KOTOR-KOTOR-KOTOR-KOTOR-

Ravensong's earlier prediction about a brawl after the race had been spot on. So had her advice that rather than trying to search threw brawlers and fleeing patrons that they'd all meet up in the apartment in the Upper City.

As soon as the apartment door opened reveling the lost Jedi and Ravensong, Carth practically tossed himself into an ecstatic dance of joy. Mission practically tossed herself at her new hero, smiling and full of pride. Skye hugged the girl and gave a nod towards Zaalbar's direction.

"Bastila you're alive!" he exclaimed. "Finally, things are looking up! Now all we need to do is figure a way off of Taris."

"You mean you don't have a way off Taris by now? What have you been doing all this time?" the Jedi scolded.

"Trying to find you remember?" said Skye with sarcasm dipping from her voice.

Bastila gave her a searching look before she continued. "I see. Well now that I am back in charge of this mission, we can start doing things properly. Hopefully our escape from Taris will go more smoothly than when you "rescued" me from Brejik."

"Oh-oh." Mission flinched taking a step back from what she was positive was going to end up with Bastila getting an earful from a seriously pissed off Nagai.

Carth too sensed a fight in the air. There was no way Skye was going to let that go, just because the other woman was a Jedi. He did what any good officer did. He stepped in. "I know you're new at this Bastila but a leader doesn't berate her troops just because things aren't going their way. Don't let your ego get in the way of the real issues here."

"This hardly strikes me as an appropriate way of addressing _your_ commander, Carth. _I _am a member of the Jedi Order and this is _my_ mission. Don't forget that. My Battle Meditation has helped the Republic many times in this war and it will serve us well here I'm sure."

Skye all but rolled her eyes. She did let out a hurmph of Jedi's so called mighty Battle Meditation. Fat lot of good it did in the battle over Taris.

"Your talents might win us a few battles but that doesn't make you a good leader! A good leader would at least _listen_ to the advice of soldiers who have seen more combat then she ever will!"

Both Ravensong and Zaalbar nodded in agreement. She might not actually liked Carth but he was a good bridge officer. She had to give him that.

At first Bastlia looked startled that anyone had the audacity to speak to her like that, then she sighed and lowered her head. The warnings of the Masters' against pride echoed in her mind. The tone she used now was apologetic "You're right of course. I've been…under a bit of …stress recently, forgive me. Of course I'm willing to listen to your advice. What do you suggest we do?"

"First of all," said Carth "we can't get hung up on who's in charge. We're gonna have to work together if we want to get out of here alive. The answers out there we just need to find it."

"Well said Carth," agreed Bastila, "And the sooner we start looking for it the better." Her body trembled slightly, barely perceivable save for the trained eyes of a scout. "I've already been a prisoner of the Black Vulkars, I don't want to be captured by the Sith."

"Yeah they wouldn't be as fun. No sense of humor." Skye jibbed watching the Jedi very closely for more the tremors she spotted earlier. She highly doubted they had anything to do with the cold that seeped into the apartment. "Never trust anyone without a sense of humor."

Ballista was about to chastise the cheeky scout for such insolence then suddenly realized she was being deliberately baited for just such a reaction. Another part of her felt a pang of regret as she recalled the same sort of levity in another, now lost to her. Skye was such a harsh reminder of someone from the past.

"Yes well I think it would be quite horrible to hear Malak laugh. Mechanical sounds do nothing for a jovial environment."

Skye was taken aback. "Did…did you, the mighty Jedi Princess just make a joke?"

Blastila crossed her arms in front of her chest, daring the Nagai to goad her further.

"There's hope for you yet, Jedi." Skye flashed a very charming grin. As soon it was there it was gone and Skye's face took on a more serious expression. "Bastila, I need to see you in private."

"Why…" the Jedi started but she felt unrest in the older woman. Something was heavily troubling her. "Very well."

Ravensong led the proud Jedi into the refresher. Skye waited until the door was secure before she spoke. Her voice was soft, tender almost apologetic. "I know you will not want to answer this question, but don't think it is any failing on your part." She sighed. "When you were with the Vulkers did….they…were you violated?"

"Violated?" at first Bastlia bristled. Of course there was a violation, she was taken prisoner, a restraining neuro-collar snapped around her neck, her lightsaber snatched up like some trophy and now forced too… Then she realized what Skye was asking her, why her voice was so tender, why so hesitant. Skye believed she may have been raped.

"I know you're a Jedi, but you had a collar on…until the brawl you didn't have the will to remove it. I know you're a proud woman, a strong woman Bastila. But if you were hurt…there are precautions that maybe needed to be taken. There is a healer nearby…"

"Skye, I wasn't violated. I'm sure the thought crossed Brejik's mind more an a few times. The price for me being unspoiled as it were was high enough to stay even his lusts. It's also why I suspect I was moved to more secure location than the Vulker base. He didn't trust any of his people."

Skye nodded. She recalled the human female slave. There was no doubt in the scout's mind that young woman had suffered more than having her ass and tits groped

For a moment the Nagai hesitated, searching Bastila's face before she relented.

"Skye, I promise you apart from stripping me of my robes, and lightsaber I wasn't violated. Well perhaps my dignity but I was not hurt, not in the way you fear."

The older woman nodded seemingly satisfied. For a moment it was as if Bastlia was going to reach out and touch her arm but hesitated then pulled back her hand.

"I…I thank you for the concern, Skye. And the discursion you tried to give me."

"The galaxy isn't kind to women."

"Unfortunately your words speak the truth." The Jedi studied the other woman for another moment; there was something else in the woman's face. "Is something troubling you?" she asked.

"Something weird happened just as we were leaving the arena. I had a waking dream about you. More like a vision than anything else."

"A vision of what?"

"You were fighting a dark Jedi. Revan, I guess."

Bastila was genuinely startled by this revelation, but she quickly schooled it beneath her Jedi training. "That is strange. Such visions are often a sign of Force sensitivity."

Skye cocked her head, stymied. "What do you mean?"

"I'm…I'm not sure. It may you have some talent with the Force." Bastila said quickly. "It would not be unheard of. It may be that your talents fed off my own Force abilities and in the aftermath of the brawl, The Force allowed you to witness one of my more intense memories." The last sentence was said with notes of regret.

"This isn't the first time I've had a vision like this," Skye admitted, "It happened right after I first woke up on Taris. And several times after that. At first I couldn't make out what was happening, just a very familiar hum and flashes of gold, and crimson. Now in context I know what it was- lightsabers yours and Revan's. Though it seemed wrong. Revan's blades should have been violet and blue…she wielded two blades, not one. So it couldn't have been the brawl that was the catalyst. Something else triggered them."

"The Force is complicated; even I with all my training do not fully understand it yet. This is a matter best left to the wise Masters of the Jedi Council." Bastila drew in a breath, as if to steady shaken nerves. "Once we escape Taris we can seek the guidance of the Council if you wish. They will be able to tell you the significance of your visions. If there _is _any. Right now we should stay focused on the task at hand."

"Right like getting you to take a shower and probably attired. Hey, I don't mind if you want to go around Taris half naked but we probably should try to avoid that kind of attention."

"I don't suppose you have something in mind? If it's a mettle bikini you can just forget it."

Skye's mouth dropped open before her lips curled into a very mischievous and flirtatious smile. "You know I can't un-imagine that." Skye slipped past the Jedi and winked. "Thanks for the mental image. But yes I do have something you can use; I picked some garments up at Kelba's Emporium. It's even in dull Jedi earth tones: all oranges and browns. Hard to say if you'll like it though, it's not at all pretentious."

-KOTOR-KOTOR-KOTOR-KOTOR-KOTOR-KOTOR-

It seemed everybody including Zaalbar (under extreme duress and a nudge of a Jedi's mind trick, though only because it was sonic and not water. But then no one wanted to smell wet Wookie even if he stank of sewer poodoo) took their turn in the refresher. Clean cloths either fresh or newly cleaned by sonic shower were donned. And bellies were filled which nearly whipped out Skye's prepaid Czerka credit chit.

Sleeping arrangements were a little odd. Both Zaalbar and Carth took to the floor on sleeping mats. The two beds were given the women, Bastila had her own bed previously Carth's and Skye shared hers with Mission.

Bastila was the last to fall asleep. For a time she didn't think it would come to her, her mind troubled not only by what Ravensong had said about the visions, but the fact she had them at all. There was significance to them, one she wasn't yet prepared to face. Not yet. Not so soon after Revan's…fall. If she could only stop the slight shivering she felt when near the Nagai. Bastila knew she had to get herself under control, Skye surely had noticed, how long before Carth did or their two new members of their team? It had been far too long before she felt peace. In meditation she could center herself, find control and a stillness she hadn't felt in a long time.

The Jedi sat cross-legged on the bed, closed her eyes and fell into a restful meditative state. She followed the threads of the bond she had forged with another nearly a year ago. She felt herself slipping into a Force-vision.

_Gray clouds, black swirling mists spiralled in and out of the mindscape. Voices in the distance becoming clearer…closer._

"_You must heed the words of the Masters, Reven. Don't go off on this fool mission of yours. Please my love…don't do this.'_

'_We are Jedi, Bastila. It is our duty to protect. The Mandalorians must be stopped. They aren't hitting military targets anymore. They're destroying innocents by the billions! If the Jedi sit by and do nothing then we are do not deserve to be called peace keepers, or guardians. I will not turn my back on my duty. I don't see nor understand how you can!"_

"_We must trust the in the wisdom of the Jedi Council!" _

"_While whole worlds burn, I can not! I will not! How can you? You are no Jedi if you turn your back this slaughter!" Revan roared. "Nor are the Masters."_

"_You don't mean that!"_

_Reven touched her head. "I can hear them. All of them. Worlds screaming out in pain, in blood and the Masters will do nothing but sit by and watch it happen. No more. We're going. Come with me. Alec and Meetra have joined so have many others. Bastila…beloved, join me." _

"_I can't, Revan. Even if you are my heart's love, I can't disobey the will of the Council. Not like this. We are already defying them with our…love. You can not win against the will of the Masters, they will cast you out. Or worse. What if they strip you of the Force? Don't you think Master Atris will push for it after you take her beloved Meetra away from her? Master Vandar…he'll demand your exile! Please, I'm begging you don't do this."_

"_I truly am sorry Bastila." She kissed her lover deeply. "But this is something I have to do."_

Bastila shuddered back into consciousness. Memories flooded her mind, and her heart. Her fingers touched her lips; the taste of her beloved still lingered there even after all this time. Her grey eyes fell on the woman who was so much like her former lover and yet they were so very different.

'Oh Revan…why? Why did you turn to the Dark Side? You went to protect but came back…a monster…worse than those you went to fight. Now even more worlds are burning, more lives cry out. More blood is spilled. ..Why my love…why did you chose that path?'

She lowered her head closed her eyes and allowed exhaustion to finally take her. Her mind thankfully free of dreams of dark lords, lost love and painful memories: her heart…not so free.

-KOTOR-KOTOR-KOTOR-KOTOR-KOTOR-KOTOR-

Dawn broke over Taris, in cool crispness of the late autumn season. The companions ate a light quick breakfast curtsey of credit cits taken off of the dead swoop gangers.

Even as they all sat along the dinner table, Bastila watched Skye, her expression practically unreadable. Ravensong met her gaze and held it then cheekily winked.

"Keep looking at me like that Princess, and people will start talking."

"I…what?"

The scout simply smiled.

"Can we concentrate on what is important? Like how we can get off this planet? I think we should try and find someone who can aid us. Perhaps one of the cantinas…"

"Maybe you should try and ask I don't know this party's only scout. It is after all one of the reasons I was placed on the mission in the first place wasn't it? Or did you just hirer me on because I'm a polilinguist?" The tone in Skye's voice was suddenly very serious.

"Very well, then what have you learned?" Bastila asked.

"First off: a way off this planet is the _Ebon Hawk_- a smuggler's ship owned by the guy who thinks he is the big bad. His name is Davik Kang. He's part of the Exchange, he's a made man, but I doubt he is as big as he thinks he is in the entire organization. He's big enough here however that the Sith pretty much leave him alone, probably because they've made a deal with larger bosses of the Exchange. Killing Kang off will hurt them in the long run so they leave the motherfracker alone, for the most part. Though with that blockade in motion it's halted Kang's slavery, drug running and extortion gigs. His extortion racket on Taris however hasn't lessened; in fact I believe it's increased, so much so he's pressing the swoop gangs.

"It was one of the reason's Brejik was so intent on putting you up as a prize Princess, he wanted to rally the others gangs to press Kang's people back. One of them includes a Mandi merc named Canderous Ordo. He's a kath hound straining against the muzzle Kang has on him. But he's a good little doggy and comes when whistled. Literally.

"Kang has an arrogant little shit of a pilot. I'm guessing Holden was newly promoted to being his lead flier for the _Ebon Hawk_. The slimeo has enough pull to put bounties on women who stand up for themselves as he tries to rape them. But he is enough of a cowered and egotist that he pulled back like any bully when bested." Skye gave a wicked grin before she continued her briefing.

"Now getting a hold of the _Ebon Hawk_ another matter. Holden might be a way, this Ordo might be another. And you're right; Princess starting in a cantina is what we need to do. And I know just which one to start in. I'm positive that we'll find either Holden or Canderous there. Holden will be easy to manipulate, easier with that handy dandy Jedi mind trick of yours. Despite the fact Canderous is Mandalorian, mental manipulation isn't impossible with them despite what they claim. You just have to push hard enough. Sometimes it will give them a brain hemorrhage but no great loss."

Carth was just about to about to ask how Ravensong knew that Mandies could be manipulated when he remembered that he had told Skye he knew the Force was capable of doing terrible things to people including wiping their minds.

"I must say I'm impressed." the Jedi commented

Skye scrunched up her face puzzled but the complement. "Why? I'm a scout. It's what I do, ferret out information."

"Believe me; she's very good at it. One tiny conversation with the lady next door and she had almost everything fingered out including this planet's political climate. Kang, the Sith and the gangs and how their interactions created the currant infrastructure." Carth admitted. "You should watch her work, though don't question her about it, it's a touchy subject."

"What you didn't figure that out until just now?" Skye teased.

"Actually, I'd like to speak to you about that. I would like to ask you some more about what happened to you after the crash." Bastila said.

"Before I rescued you, you mean," said Skye. There was no way she was going to let the Jedi get off that easy after the hell she went through the past few days.

.

"I managed to free myself as I recall. If _I_ hadn't been there, Brejik might've killed you in that fight. It's probably more accurate to say _I_ rescued you."

And there it was. The gauntlet was through. Carth and Mission both winced. Zaalbar just shook his head.

"You didn't manage to free yourself until after we arrived as I recall," said Skye, pressed.

"I'll admit that I probably wouldn't have been able to successfully escape if not for the brawl after the swoop race. I should thank you for that at least." But before Skye could make a witty or indigent response, Bastila continued with a rapid fire speech. "Actually you presence at the track is what I'm most curious about. It couldn't have been easy to find me there, yet you managed it. You also avoided detection by the Sith, discovered I was a Vulkar prisoner, gained sponsorship for the race and became the Taris Swoop Champion. That's quite a resume."

Skye's lips curled into a genuine smile.

"Not only that she blew up Fido! She got a rancor to swallow a whole backpack full of frag grenades! It was awesome! " Mission supplied. "Before that she rescued Big Z from grammarian slavers, took on whole swarms of rakghouls and stormed the Vulker base to get back the accelerator so Gadon would let her race. Only he knew it'd blow up on her, but Skye raced anyway knowing she was probably going to die. She wanted to save you. She even made Gadon and Zadora swear a blood oath that if a Bek won you'd go free all the same. She also became the grand champion of the arena to get enough credits to get to you." There was no doubt of the hero worship in the young Twi'lek's voice.

"Mission you're selling you Zaalbar and Carth contributions short. All of you helped." Skye turned to Bastila, "Though you didn't leave out rescuing a fair damsel in distress."

"Ah the rescue again. Very well I concede you did, rescue me. That aside Skye, your modesty is admirable but though others helped, you were the catalyst for these events. When you were chosen to join this mission, none of us expected this much from you. A Jedi could have done such things of course, but only by drawing heavily upon the Force."

Skye didn't know what was worse the Jedi's arrogance or the backhanded complement.

"I think you may be underestimating us non-Jedi."

"Perhaps, but the Force works through us all in one degree or another. There are some individuals who grow up outside of the Order whom we refer to as Force Sensitive. It is obvious to me that the Force has been working through you; I can see no other reason for your great success though I am not certain what to make of this discovery." It was very clear on Bastlia's face she was extremely troubled by the prospect. "If you were younger the Jedi might consider you for training…"

"Wait a minute, are you saying that I could become Jedi?" asked an astonished Skye.

Bastila hastily concealed the look of surprise on her face and quickly composed herself. "I'm sorry, I've over-stepped my authority. These things are best left to the Jedi Council. For now, let's just accept the fact that you are… gifted. Hopefully between your talents, my Jedi training and the skills of our companions we will be able to escape this world. Your idea to confront and manipulate either this Holden or Canderius seems solid enough."

"I've been wondering something myself Bastila," Carth spoke up. "You sorta skipped a lot of details last night. How did the Vulkars even manage to capture you in the first place? Were you unconscious?"

"Ah…No I wasn't. But my Force powers were exhausted from the battle. Without my help you may not have gotten off the ship alive."

Skye rolled her eyes at this. 'And here I thought the Order frowned on such arrogances in their padawan learners. Tsk tsk Princess, your master would most certainly disapprove of all your displays of self importance.'

"Fair enough," said Carth, braking into Skye's internal thoughts. "But I've seen you Jedi in action, there's no way they could have been able to get past your lightsaber."

Bastila instantly looked genuinely embarrassed. All the previous arrogance drained way, not even her Jedi training was able to hide it. "My lightsaber was… misplaced. The Vulkars came and overwhelmed me even as I was searching for my weapon."

"Wait a minute, let me get this straight," Carth managed to strangle back a full out bust of laughter, "You lost your lightsaber? I mean, isn't that a violation of some kind of Jedi code or something?"

"Of all the Jedi in the galaxy why do we get the one who's absent-minded," ginned Skye. She didn't even make the attempt to hide her pure amusement. She and Mission both giggled.

Bastila bristled. "This is no laughing matter! It must have… it must have fallen off my belt and rolled somewhere I couldn't get to it. I searched everywhere for it!"

"And I'm betting this is where you flounce some unfeasible excuse on how they got a hold of it, like it rolled under your seat or something despite the fact you looked everywhere for it?" Skye teased.

The look of murder flared white hot in Bastila's grey eyes.

"Hey, hey, hey, don't get mad. I'm sorry," said Carth trying to placate the woman with what he hoped was a genuine tone of warmth, "It's just funny to think of a legendary Jedi who destroyed Revan losing her lightsaber to a bunch of swoop gangers. Take my advice; this is one detail you should keep out of the history texts."

"I hardly consider myself a legend Carth. Though I will consider what you say when I report to the Jedi Council. There is no need for them to know every detail of what transpired."

'Yeah like the truth of the rescue, I bet you tell them your version how you saved us poor pathetic non-Force users with your extra ordinary Jedi prowess and Battle Meditation.' Skye mentally added.

Bastila turned sharply to her almost as if she had heard the internal monolog. Skye frowned at this as she knew Jedi and their Sith counterparts were mindreaders. To combat this she started listing hyperspace routs and star charts. It was one of the few ways she knew to combat mental intrusions. Though she had to admit she might simply becoming as jumpy and suspicious as Carth. That prospect didn't at all sit well with the young Nagai scout.

"Enough chatter folks, we should head out and see if we can't get off this bloody rock." the scout said going for her gear.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

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"Seriously?" Skye piped up as the companions were near the door of the apartment reading to head out. She was looking directly at Bastila as she said this.

The Jedi was genuinely perplexed.

Skye rolled her eyes. "Sith's blood you're as bad as he was wandering around in a hey fracking shoot me, I'm a Republic' orange bomber jacket. You have a lightsaber attached to your belt. You want to advertise to the bleeding Sith you're a Jedi?"

"I can not leave it behind." Bastlia protested, "There is however wisdom to your words. I shall endeavor to conceal it."

"Conceal a double-bladed saber?" Skye shook her head, then she chanced to see Mission hovering close at hand.

"Alright, I got an idea about that. Mission, hand me the rucksack we've stashed the gear in."

The girl tossed the bag to her and she in turned handed it to Bastila. "Here sling this over shoulder and stash that attention getter in it."

"You want me to become a pack animal?" hissed the human woman incredulously.

"Oh I do apologize. I forgot I was talking to a princess." Skye bent low as if in audience of true royalty. "Sling that god-damn thing over your shoulder your Jediness and get over your fracking ego. Mission, you're not using your sword, let Princess here use it until we're clear of this rock."

"Sure thing, Skye."

"I will not be spoken to like that. I am you're commanding officer."

Skye took two determined strides and practically pressed her body into Bastlia's. "I didn't go through all that crap just so you can have the Sith hunt us down like rakghouls the very moment we step outside this door. I've already had that experience thanks to Mr. Paranoia over there, and I'm _not_ going to do that again.

"Everyone by now knows I won the season opener, and they know about the brawl, they also know I won some supposed Republic officer. What they don't know is you're _Jedi_. The one thing we don't want them to know! Now you're going to play the part of a slave, the slave I won. Now slaves carry their master's crap, so you're going to carry that bag and you're going to shut up about it.

"For the past week or so I made a reputation here. Some of the Sith even know by be my nom de plume: The Mysterious Stranger or MS, the area grand champion. And I'm playing on it. Banking on it. And when the Sith we face on the street see you there are going to be questions, they'll probably try and confiscate you. So I'm going to lie, cheat and bluff my way out of it. But it won't work if you're being your normal snotty, stuck-up stick up your ass, Jedi Princess. Instead you are going to be a snotty Tarissian noble-born girl. Got it?"

Bastlia stunned by the bombastic barrage of words only nodded.

"Good."

'Skye, not to put fleas in the fur but what sort of slave has a sword?' Zaalbar asked.

"One that is also a bodyguard." came a ready answer. "You know maybe we should have gone with the mettle bikini after all. Bodyguard and body slave a perfect combination for the perfect cover story." Skye smirked playfully.

Bastlia took three steps back, her cheeks once blossomed red with anger she was trying ever so hard to cool now they blushed for a whole other reason. The twinkle in Skye's' blue eyes made her stomach flip in a way it hadn't for a very long time. "I will play the part you want Ravensong. But I will not be you're toy. Remember I am still in command of this operation."

The slim smile that etched the Nagai's lips spoke for her. It said: 'Believe what you want Princess. We both know that isn't true.'

Once outside they were almost set upon by a green skinned Twi'lek. It was as if Ravensong had been excepting an ambush for she all but leapt upon the man like a Nabooan tusked panther and practically slammed the fellow into the facing wall with a skull-cracking thud.

"Vulkars are craven but I didn't think they were all so very stupid to attack me at my very door!" the scout hissed.

"I…I…" the man stuttered but he could make no words come from a suddenly parched throat. Or that could be that it was the slender blade pressed against it.

"Out with it man or I will cut out your tongue and have a listen to it as it wriggles on the floor at my boot heel." the scout hissed.

He handed in a shaking hand a data-padd. "I was order…ordered to give you this."

"By whom?"

"Can…" he swallowed hard and Skye eased up on the presser of her honor blade.

"Can? Can what?"

"Canderous Ordo, he works for Davik Kang. He…he wants to meet you as soon as possible."

Skye took the stepped back, sheathed her dagger and took the data-padd from green trembling fingers. She scanned the summons and smirked.

"Go tell Kang's Hound I will be there in my own time."

"But….but he said now….not to make him wait."

"In. My. Own. Time. Now be a good little boy and run off and tell the Hound what I said. Exactly as I said it."

The Twi'lik darted off swifter but with less sure legs than when he had arrived.

"Was that truly necessary? He looked like he was going to soil his trousers." Bastila chastened the older woman.

"Like I said I'm going to lie, cheat and bluff my way out of things. It's all part of the game."

"This is a game to you?"

"Isn't it? Don't get me wrong I take my life and yours very seriously. But if you don't approach all of this with the correct outlook then it seems hopeless daunting. Five against an entire Sith armada? We are not graced with the odds." She handed up the data-padd. "But we might just have found our ship. Kang's Hound says he as a deal that will aid us both."

'This Hound sends a messenger in his own place? Who wants to talk? Kang or his Hound?' Asked Zaalbar.

"From the looks of it, I'd say the Hound."

"Canderous Ordo? Wants to deal? Skye, he has a big rep in the Lower City. He's Kang's meanest, heaviest gun!" Mission exclaimed.

"And he's also a Mandie, you can't trust any of them. But damn it, he's probably our best bet off this rock." Carth added.

Skye nodded. "Lets go see what this Hound is barking at shall we?"

On the street it was Mission so started speaking. "If we're leaving now to see Ordo why did you tell the messenger in your own time?"

"Because this Hound is a mandie. They don't respect the craven or those jump and obey simply because they were commanded to. Well those outside their own clan's military. We have never tested each other in battle. If I came as soon as summoned I'd never have his respect. Hey Carth how many mandie women have you ever faced in the war?"

"Women?" the man's face frowned. "I don't think I ever faced one. Why?"

"And you won't have. To the Mandalorians, woman's work is farming, breeding, merchants and vendors, and even expendable munitions handling like defragging mines. But a true warrior? No. Oh they say Mandalorian women are the only ones to give birth to true men, but you won't ever see a true-born mandie woman on the battlefield. Maybe their slaves as a living shield, but not their true-born daughters.

"If I rushed to Ordo's side simply out of fear of his reputation he'd believe I am unequal and unworthy. Even as a Blade I'd have no credible validation. The mandies respected Reven because she proved herself in battle both as a Blade and a Jedi. I think a lot of them wondered why Reven wanted to be a man taking up weapons and all, but she was a worthy opponent, even feared. But most of all respected. I will wager all our lives this Hound was in that war. He might have been a squad that stood before the Revanchrist and here comes another Blade…" Skye shrugged. "This 'come now' summons is a test to see the strength in my spine. And since he believes I command all of you it's a test to see if you follow your battlemaster or do you allow his dark brutal street-rep urge you into action against my orders."

Carth was about to blurt out she seemed to know a lot about the Mandalorians when intelligence hit him up side the head with a clue-by-four. Ravensong was a bloody scout of course she knew things about the enemy. That was her job.

As they got nearer the lift that would take them to the Lower City, Onasi and Mission both became slightly apprehensive. Neither one of them believed in Bastila's acting skills. They were going to be busted the very moment the Jedi opened her mouth. Her accent wasn't Tarissian it was Talravin.

Skye however turned not for the lift but towards Zelka Forn's clinic. If there was a question upon anyone's lips it wasn't uttered.

As soon as they walked in the ageing doctor greeted them from one of the lab stations. "Ah my young Arena Champion returns. And not limping or bleeding this time. That's a good sign."

"I'm not here for your healing arts this time, Doc. In fact I'm here to help you." She opened one of the many pockets on her tac vest and withdrew three green phylacteries. I believe you can use these."

"Is that….rakghoul serum!" His brown eyes widened in utter disbelief and awe.

Skye smiled. "Yep. Here you go. I figure there is enough there for you to animalize it and start synthesizing more."

"My friend! This is beyond words. Truly, I can not thank you enough. I have little to spare to pay…"

Skye shook her head. "No way, Doc. It's time for karmic payback. You don't charge those too destitute to pay and those from the Lower City that can, you barely charge them at all. It's about time someone did something for you. Just take it."

The man was so jubilant he grabbed Skye into a mighty bear hug. "You have no idea how many lives this will save. Thank you. Thank you!" he let her go. "May your Night Mother smile favorably upon your path." he pattered her on the shoulder as a proud father might his child. "If you won't take some credits perhaps I can offer a discount…"

"Doc, it's a gift alright. I don't want anything. Look we have things we have to do. You take care, alight?"

"And you my friend. And you."

Bastila starred in complete wonder as the Nagai walked passed her and started for the lifts. It was only because of her Jedi training that she didn't start when Carth appeared next to her and began to speak once the scout was out of earshot.

"She's been doing stuff like that the whole time we're here. Jumping in to stop a guy being mugged, she put a stop to thugs shaking down people for Davik by outright killing them or using that silver tongue to make them reconsider their actions. She even put a stop to some poor Ithorian being bullied by some brats. The list goes on and on. She even helped some Twi'lak woman get a dancing gig, by dancing with her. She's becoming some sort of urban folk hero."

"I think it's great." Mission said, there was no mistaking the hero worship in her voice. "She's kinda like a non-Jedi Jedi. Now that you said she has the Force, I'll bet she'll make a great Jedi!"

Bastila found she wanted to agree but another part of her was wary. They had to get off this planet soon before anything more surfaced. The Masters must be made aware of the development.

By the time the rest of them caught up to their wandering leggy scout she was in deep conversation with two of the guards stationed at the lift doors.

"…I'm telling you she not an Orange Coat, just some trollop, daddy had to sell to settle his debts to Kang. Easy way to do that was to sell his darling little girl here to the Vulkers. Apparently he had a few gambling debts to them as well. Brejik only said she was an Orange Coat to up his very lacking personality. That guy has all the charm of a swap rat not to mention the hygiene of a rakghoul. He needed help to sway the other smaller gangs to join him against the Hidden Beks. Saying he had an Orange Coat sweetened the deal. Come on you don't actually believe that a swoop ganger can be trusted to tell the truth can you? They don't exactly have a stellar reputation."

"That's true enough." said one of them with a male voice.

"Believe me Yun, Miss Lavin here is nothing of the kind. I wish that it was so. I might have been able to buy myself off this rock by trading her to your CO. Alas it is not to be. Still, I'm going to have fun breaking her in though. Never went for slavery before but this shutta has it coming. Humiliating her is just the start…"

"If you want fun MS, why dally with a Tarsian sleemo when there is some one far more worthy and willing?"

"Hard to resist a woman in uniform Sarna, but unfortunately once I do get passage to leave, you can't come with me. The witless trollup can."

With the full sliver face mask on it was impossible to see the eyes roll but Ravensong imagined Sarna had done just that.

"She's got a point Saran. Alright MS, you can go, have fun down in that pit of Javannar's. Making the Lavin girl slum it, now that's poetic justice."

Skye bowed theatrically. That's me a bard of tragic irony."

'You don't know the half of it.' the thought slid into Bastlia's thoughts as a thief in the night.

-KOTOR-KOTOR-KOTOR-KOTOR-KOTOR-KOTOR-

Bastila locked her arms in a fold glaring at Ravensong as they rode down the long length between the Upper and Lower cities.

Skye gave a stymied shrug, "What?"

"I don't like being called a witless trollup."

"I didn't mean it." Offered the scout.

"That was not what it sounded like." Bastila was still frowning heavily. "In fact it sounded like you enjoyed that whole farce."

"You're a Jedi can't you tell when someone is lying?"

"You're very good at it, and you're very convincing."

"That's sorta the point isn't it? Sometimes you have to deal in half truths and hyperbole and outright lies to get the mission done." Skye noted the subtle uncomfortable shift in Bastila's stance. She passed it off as an aversion to the scout's less than savory way of dealing with things, not unlike Onasi's. She continued to speak as if she hadn't noticed it. "It worked didn't? Yun bought it hook line and sinker. Even Sarna did, though I got the feeling she was a might jealous."

"You're on first name bases with Sith?" Bastlia asked clearly stunned.

"Sort of. And not all of them, just a handful and they tend to guard the lifts around here. Look, I'll tell you all about it latter. The quick SitRep is that Cath and I needed to get our hands some uniforms. I found the easiest way to do it and did it. Why quibble over details? Be grateful they now think of you nothing more than a whinging witless Tarsian nobleman's' daughter. Being sold into slavery to cover daddy dearest gambling debts with the gangers was a risky lie I grant you, but obviously a believable one."

"It was a billable enough story but still did you have to use the adjective trollup? I am no such thing."

"You? Of course not. But that nobleman's daughter? A complete slaten." Skye waved her hand dismissively.

Carth, Mission and Zaalbar wisely decided this was one conversation they best stay out of.

"And _how_ do you know this?"

"Ah, because I made up her to be?" Skye became very puzzled. "Why are we arguing over it? You know, I'd swear you're jealous."

"A Jedi is above petty jealousy." Bastila said haughtily.

"Of course they are." Skye teased. "Good thing there are no Jedi here right, or the Sith will swoop down and catch her up. Swooping _is_ bad."

The others struggled to stifle their amusements. Mission failed and was smirking outright. It seemed no one was spared the Nagai's levity.

"If you made up that 'slaten's' name why did those Sith believe it so readily? They seemed to know the family name of Lavin."

Skye scratched the back of her neck and shifted her feet, mumbling. "Because, I sorta used a real person's name. But she totally had it coming, the insolent prig."

"One can not be a slaten and a prig at the same time." Blastila pointed out. "What did she do, resist your charms?"

"Pft hardly. That witless wonder Gana, first mistook me for a waiter and then demanded I go fetch her drink for her. When I told her to bugger off I was no waitress she said her father would hear about my insolence and ran off. Then she hired two Rodian goons to kill me and Carth as we walked out of the cantina. After we defeated them she ran off to daddy once more. They way Yun bought it I'm sure she's done that sort of thing before, so maybe daddy had enough and rid himself of the nuisance once and for all.

"Besides does it truly matter what your undercover story is, just as long as the Sith believe it? So what if I made you out to be a trollop? The only thing that matters is that the bad guys bought it."

"True enough but I wouldn't count me slavoring you with kisses or giving you a lap dance any time soon Ravensong." Bastila narrowed her grey eyes, almost daring the Nagai to contradict her.

Skye smiled flippantly. "That's okay, Princess. Since you're not wearing that metal bikini where would I to put the credit chits, anyway?"

-KOTOR-KOTOR-KOTOR-KOTOR-KOTOR-KOTOR-

Javannar's cantina was still the pustule piss-pot it was the first day they had entered its dank dark corners. Typical for a dive, Skye had frequented hundreds of them over her career but she doubted the Jedi had even stepped foot in such a place.

To her credit Bastila did not show her distain and there was no hint of her revulsion, but Ravensong swore she could feel it as clearly as if it were her own. The younger woman gave her queer look before she tuned away quickly.

Seasoned eyes scoured the immediate area. No doubt the Mandalorian had positioned himself so he could see the main entrance as to spot their approach. She spotted him then seated at a table with his back to the wall as much as it was allowed and still who was approaching from the entrance.

He waved them over almost imperiously. He seemed to be giving them a once over, more than he had the first two times they had met. No doubt the first two times he did not see them as any one of note. Now however was another story.

As for Canderous himself he was intrigued by the motley crew. A Wookie male, a Twi'lek street rat, one puny human male, and two very attractive females: one human the other a Nagai.

It was the last that Canderous gave his attention too. She was tall for a female just shy of looking him in the eye. Of course Nagai always seemed taller to him because they were so gaunt and lanky. They had elongated pointed ears and sharp angular features. Their hair always seemed to be more mane than not. At least Ravensong's wasn't unruly as typical of her people. Then again it was difficult to tell, seeing that she kept it tied back into a ponytail.

"I saw you in the swoop race. Very impressive. You seem like the kind of person who knows how to get results. Exactly the kind of person I'm looking for." the Mandalorian said in a way of greeting her.

Ravensong crossed her arms in front of her chest, and snorted contempt. "I'm no merc, Hound of Kang."

"So you know who I am."

"Well you did introduce yourself in the Undercity or did the death of most of your men make you forget that part? You also told me the gangers were stupid to go against Kang's orders."

"You still got a tongue on you I see. And you've got a lot of spunk for a Blade whelp. But yes, I work for Kang and therefore the Exchange. The hours aren't great but the pay is good, and I don't have anything better to do. Mandalorian mercs like me are in high demand. As I said I need someone with your skills and mind."

"What are you talking about?" asked Skye warily. "And for the record I don't do anything that involves children or animals."

"Lately Davik hasn't been paying me what he promised. I don't like getting cheated, so I figure it's time to break the Sith quarantine and get off this backwater planet."

"I since a but in there." Skye said flatly.

"A big one." the merc nodded. "I have a plan to escape Taris but I can't do it alone. I need someone I know can get the job done and that's where you come in."

"Careful," warned Carth, "mercs like this don't have a lick of conscience. They'll betray you in a heartbeat. This could be a trap."

"I aint talking to you am I? I'm talking to your friend here," growled Canderous.

"When I saw how you won that swoop race," he continued "I started thinking. Anyone crazy enough to race like that is crazy enough to break into the Sith military base to steal the launch codes. Without them, any ship leaving Taris' atmosphere will be disintegrated by the Sith fleet's automated defense guns."

"Crazy is as crazy does, ehe?" Skye prompted. "And why should I do this?"

"Here's the real deal. Once you get those codes, I can provide you with the ship to make it off Taris. Davik's flagship, the Ebon Hawk!"

"Yeah just one problem with that Mandalorian, just how in the hell are we supposed to brake into a Sith base. Even with stealth genitors we need to get through the door, slice into computer terminals that more than likely have firewalls upon firewalls that prevent tampering. One wrong slice and bam the whole bloody thing shuts down and the core locked."

"Right on all accounts. Getting in won't be easy: it has a top of the line encryption system. It would take a state of the art droid to slice through it. Fortunately for you, Davik was having one custom built by Janice Nall. Just tell her Canderous sent you and she'll give it to you. Normally I'd do this myself, but everyone knows who I work for. If I broke in, they'd send an army down on Davik's estate. That's why I need you."

It was their best shot. Hell they planned to steal the Ebon Hawk anyway. It was according to Holden and now confirmed by Canderous the only ship capable of breaking the blockade.

The Nagai gave a glance to her companions, she read it in their eyes without asking.. There didn't seem to be much of an option here. "Alright Canderous, you've got a deal," said Skye. "But I don't hand the codes over until we're in orbit." She took out her honor blade and much like she had with Gadon and Zaerdra she slid her palm against the edge of the knife and waited for the Mandalorian to do the same.

"I don't sense any deception from him, which is surprising. This may be exactly what we need," said Bastila hopefully.

"This help?" the large man said sliding his own palm against the knife's edge. The bargain had been struck. A blood promise made over a blade was as sacrosanct to a Mandalorian as much as it was a Nagai.

"I'll be waiting here in Javannar's. Once you have those codes, come find me and we can get off this rock." Said Canderous.

-KOTOR-KOTOR-KOTOR-KOTOR-KOTOR-KOTOR-

"What is it with you and blades and blood?" Carth asked once they were outside the cantina.

"Maybe you missed the pointed ears, pale skin, and dark hair?" Skye said. "That should sort of explain things; if not go check an anthropological database that will clear everything up."

"You have a cheeky response for everything don't you?" He asked

"Pretty much. Look, why you two go and get that droid from Janis, I've got something I have to take care of."

"You have 'something you have to take care of'?" Bastila questioned. "And what may I ask is more pressing than completing our current objective?"

"Nothing has more power or stronger than a promise kept. I intend to keep one I made to the Outcasts."

"What promise?" Bastila demanded.

"One I made to Grandfather Rukil of the Undercity. I'm going to return the journals to him."

"While that might be good sentiment we truly do not have the time."

"I made a promise." Skye said flatly. There was a grunt of approval coming from the Wookie. He at least seemed to understand the weight and value of keeping one's oath.

Skye took from Bastila the backpack, withdrew the three journals she and the others had found within the sewers then handed the pack to Mission. "I'll meet you back at the apartment." Saying nothing further she headed in the opposite direction of the others.

It only took a moment for Zaalbar before he too was trailing after the woman he had sworn a life dept too. A hair's breathe later Mission started to follow though Skye stopped her.

"No Mission, I want you to stay with those two. Keep the poachers off of them. Get a good deal out of Janis. You know how to talk the talk. Don't worry about Big Z, I'll keep an eye on him."

'I am not a cub Ravensong…' Zaalbar started to growl in protest then stopped as he received a pointed look from the scout. Ravensong's words were not for his benefit or lack of appreciating his skills but to put Mission at ease. 'We'll be back before long, Mission.'

"Yeah. Okay." the girl sounded deflated. She liked Skye a lot, she wanted to be with her and not the stogy old guy and the stuck up Jedi. Skye was fun and she had a wicked since of humor. "But you owe me for babysitting those two."

"Deal." Skye clapped the girl on the shoulder. "Diner on me."

"Okay then." the girl brightened up a bit. It wasn't until Skye and Zaalbar had gone from view that she realized Skye was always buying the meals "Oh! She shafted me!" Shrugging indifferently she returned to Onasi and Bastila. "Let's go get this fancy droid of yours."

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An hour a half latter three dejected people left Janis's shop, "Two thousand credits. Can you believe it?" Carth complained. "I thought Ravensong sent you along so we could get a good deal."

"Two thousand is a good deal that droid is worth at least three times that amount. Canderous's name got us what we could. If you two play the bully human card she might go down another five hundred but were still going to be two-fifty short." Mission said. "But Skye won't like it."

"Nor would I approve of such tactics." Bastila said. "We shall endeavor a way to find way to resolve this. Seven hundred and fifty short, surely we can device a way to lay claim to such."

"There's always pazak. I can make at least a hundred if not a little more in the upper cantina. And if we go back down to Javannar's maybe another hundred." the little scoundrel offered.

"That's two fifty; we're still five hundred short." Carth pointed out. "Even if we sell the excess weaponry that still won't be enough."

"Wait what about the purse from the swoop race?" Basilia asked. "Surely there is enough."

"Afraid not. Remember? We traded it for you're guaranteed release should any of the Beks or Ravensong win." Carth said. "The swoop bike she ran was had a temperamental experimental accelerator. We're just damn lucky it didn't blow she was on it. Knowing it could she made the Beks swear one of her blood oaths you go free and they get the purse."

"Yes, I recall Mission saying something about the prototype and blood oath. I hadn't realized she bought my freedom from the Hidden Beks."

"I wouldn't say so mush as bought it as guaranteed it. Gadon seems to be an alright guy but if it came down to protecting his people over your freedom from the Sith, I doubt he'd hesitate and choose his people. I hate to say it Bastila but to him you're nothing but something to barter with."

"That's not true. Before the Sith Occupation when the Mandalorians held Taris he helped the Jedi Zayne plenty. You know the one that the Masters of the academy here blamed for the padawan massacre. Gadon even protected him and his buddy the Snivvian with the same name as my brother against a Jedi master. He wouldn't turn on someone he calls friend. He might even loan us the credits we need if you make him some kind of a promise to somehow pay the Beks back like food, medicine stuff like that."

"Mission, if they wouldn't help you rescue Zaalbar what makes you think they'll give us any more aid than they already have?" Carth asked.

"Because Gadon's a pragmatist, he stands to gain something." Mission said. "We should at least try it."

"It's worth keeping in mind." was all Carth said. "For now let's head back to the apartment and meet up with Skye. She may have a few ideas of her own. We may well have to resort to the three of us playing pazak." the pilot gave a look to Bastlia. "Four if you're any good."

"No not really. I never cared for cards."

It was nearly three hours later when the door to their apartment sounded with the coded knock they had devised. Mission rushed the door and opened it to see Skye and the hulking Zaalbar behind her. He was practically looming over the scout as protectively as he did with Mission. The girl wondered if something had happened on their way back to make her Wookie friend so very weary.

When Skye dropped a few blasters on the table the answer was self evident. "A few Vulkers decided to jump us." Ravensong explained when all eyes fell on the newly procured firearms. "There are a few less of them now in the lower city."

"No loss." Mission jibbed. "Sometimes you just have to take out the trash."

"Indeed." Came the Nagai. "Well all the Outcasts left for their Promised Land. Apparently it's a one way trip. Purposely designed that way apparently to keep it safe and apparently hidden from incursion."

"Wait you are you saying those journals were genuine?" Carth scoffed.

"Every last word." Ravensong nodded. "Hopefully they can have a far better life there than eking out their minimalist survival on the fringes of society. Oh and Dia had returned to her home in another part of the city. In all the commotion I forgot to stop by and tell her Holden isn't after her any more."

"Yeah I forgot about her too." Carth admitted. "Bet she was relieved."

"She was. Insisted I take payment for my trouble."

"Please tell me you took it." Onasi said plaintively, gaining odd looks not only from Ravensong but the Wookie as well. Seeing their expressions he quickly followed up with an explanation. "We're seven hundred and fifty shy of getting the droid. Right now we can't afford to be chivalrous."

Skye nodded. "Alright…so no droid. And yes to answer your first question I did take her payment, she was very insistent." Reaching into a pocket within her vest she pulled out a necklace and showed it to everyone else in the room. "An heirloom from her mother's mother. She pleaded for me to take it. I felt bad not to, so I honored her request."

"I hate to ask but how much is it worth? Can we sell it?" Onasi questioned.

"Probably." Skye said slipping the jeweled item back into her tac-vest.

"Then do so. It had no sentimental value to you Ravensong and we need all the credits we can get." Carth ordered.

"I'm not selling it, not yet. Not until I can figure it out."

"What's to figure? Its gaudy piece of costume jewelry…."

"No it isn't." This response came not from Skye but from Bastila. "Skye let me see it."

The scout obeyed and took it back out of her pocket and tossed it to the Jedi.

"Did you feel something?" the human woman asked.

"Yeah, it was weird. Almost as if it was whispering to me, well to my body, not to my mind. It seemed familiar and a stranger all at the same time. "

"That's the Force. The gem in the center setting is actually a focusing crystal used in lightsabers, a bondar if I'm not mistaken." She took the steps needed to cross the room and personally hand the necklace over to the other woman. "You are right in not selling it, outright. Perhaps if we can remove the crystal and sell the gold, it will bring us something on the black-market."

The scout nodded her acquiescence. "You know about these things, you go ahead and perform your surgery on it, then I'll sell it." Sighing tiredly Ravensong spoke softly. "I'm bushed. I'm taking a shower, and hitting my bunk. As for the credits, I've got an idea. The last of the bounty's will payout big."

Mission frowned. "I've seen the dossier, Skye. That's Bendack Starkiller. He never leaves the Upper City cantina. He even has a room there because of the bounty on his head! How are you going to get him? You pull a blaster in there or your blades and the Sith silverbacks will stromtroop in!"

The Nagai only smirked. "I have my wily wily ways, Mission. Which is why I'm getting some shut eye."

'You mean to challenge him in a death match.' Zaalbar grumbled.

"Look at the bright side, if I lose, your life debt is a very short one."

Bastlia didn't understand Sheraroook nor did Carth but in hearing Skye's response they knew or at least very accurately surmised what his half of the conversation was.

"Skye you can't do that!" Mission wailed. "Even if you took out Fido. Starkiller's…he's….he's good in a very bad way!"

"You mean he cheats." Skye said. "Well so do I. This is why I'm going to ask Big Z here to make a low yield thermal donator with a magnetic lock so it attaches to his armor. I sling that baby at him combined with a cyro-grenade and I'll have him. He's watched all of my matches. But he hasn't seen all my moves."

"This is insane even for you!" Carth yelped. "I can't…"

"We don't have a choice, Fly-boy." Skye cut off his rant. "Yes it's a death match which means Ajuur will be forced to pay out a rather large purse. And then there's the bounty from Zax: double pay. We'll have all the credits we need to get the droid and then some. Especially if there is betting on it. Despite your protests, Onasi on the morality of betting on matches, do it on this once. We need a bet down that Starkiller dies, not necessarily that I win, but that he dies."

"A death match is not right!" Bastila said. "It smacks of the Dark Side."

"Good thing I'm not a Jedi yet, then isn't it?"

Bastlia glowered at the older woman. "That is no excuse to dabble in it. It is a dangerous path to tread Skye epically for someone as Force sensitive and with the raw power you have…" The human seemed to will compose into herself. "It is very dangerous."

"Then I will tread lightly." Skye said smartly. She leaned in close, whispering so only Bastila heard. "I am a servant of the Night Mother, Jedi. Apparently self-righteousness allows you to forget your vows, but a Nagai never does. Ever. Even if the price is one's own soul."

Bastila pursed her lips but said no more. She could not even look the other woman in the eyes. She turned and reclaimed her spot on the other side of the room and sat down on the bed. Though no one heard the words whispered it was exceptionally obvious they had extraordinary weight upon the Jedi for her to react so.

"Skye, I'll place a bet for you." Mission blurted out trying to ease the tension growing between the two women. "I know a few bookies that will work with me" Mission offered. "I don't like it either, but like you said we don't have much of an option, here."

"You're underage, Mission." Carth pointed out. "You have to be eighteen, you're only fourteen. I hate it; I disagree with it but alright. I'll put down a bet, Skye." He knew that if he didn't the young Twi'lek would run off to her bookie 'contacts' and put down money anyway, despite his orders not to. She listened to Skye not him. If the Nagai wanted credits down on her match, Mission would make sure there was.

Ravensong's words suddenly echoed into his mind. 'Starkiller dies, not necessarily that I win.' Hold on. Hold on! "What do you mean not necessarily that you win, but Starkiller dies?"

"I thought it was evidently clear. I may not win this battle, but he is going to die nevertheless. It's difficult to escape the blast radius of an even a small yield thermal detonator. Starkiller won't leave the ring. I may not either. It doesn't matter the only thing that does is that Bastila gets off the Taris and back to the Jedi." Skye faced Carth practically nose to nose. "Our lives are nothing. Hers is everything. We _will_ do whatever it takes to get her to them. That is our only duty, our only goal. Now enough, the die is cast we play the game as it is rolled!"

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Sleep came but it was not restful.

"_Catar!" Revan uttered, her voice carried the sounds for a broken heart. "They've taken Catar!" _

"_Revan, calm yourself." Bastila softly counseled her lover. "If your mind is clouded by rage you can not think clearly. You will give the Dark Side a foothold."_

"_I am thinking clearly **emma lath.** You think I go to war for glory? Then you are so very, very wrong. Battle isn't glorious, it's not beautiful, it isn't even heroic it is merely doing what is right. Even if you have to do it again and again and again until you bleed your soul out! I don't matter, none of us matter, they do! The innocents matter! I will do whatever it takes to protect them! Even if it is soul-price I will pay it."_

"_That is the Dark Side talking, you don't mean it!"_

"_Not the Dark Side, Bastila. It is the voice of a **true** Jedi! We mend the broken; make strong the weak, protect those that can not protect themselves. We took the oath! I will not shirk my duty for the voices of the aged and cowering sages."_

"_The masters are not cowering. We must trust in their wisdom. You are a knight but you are no master! You do not hold their wisdom or foresight."_

"_Stay, then. You are still only a padawan and you are not mine. You have not yet faced the Trials. After you have faced the harrowing, perhaps you will be ready to do what is right rather what is easy. That is a decision only you can make **padawan**. I will take only the knights loyal to the oath they swore when their braids were cut. Knights like Meetra and Alek. And they in turn will take their padawans as will I will. We will go and do our sworn duty as peacemakers and protect the galaxy from these insidious maliciousness…soulless warmongers."_

"_This is hubris and folly. Beware Revan it will destroy you. I can not be you're **emma lath. **Not like this." Emma lath. It as Nagai for my heart…it was a secrete forbidden endearment, but one Bastila once loved to hear, once loved to whisper. Now it was a curse._

_Revan grabbed the younger woman and kissed her with all of her passion, her heart and her soul. It was the last kiss Bastila had ever tasted. _

Bastila woke. The memory of the kiss still on her lips. Lips she touched with the tips of her fingers. "Revan…" she whispered to no one.

In fear someone might have heard her startled waking the Jedi looked frantically about but they were all sleeping. All save one. Ravensong. The scout was in what seemed to be a Jedi meditative trance. Bastila knew this of course not to be the case. Jedi do not mediate completely naked, nor do they utter words in pray. Before her were the scout's honor blades crossed.

Bastila watched in fascination she witnessed the ancient ritual take place. She had never seen a Blade cleansing ritual before but she had heard of it. Wine was poured over the honor blades before the finger tips ran the length of the blades, drawing blood. The blades were then taken in hand and allowed to drip the remnants of the Blade's blood into a vessel, one that also contained inks or dyes taken preferably from natural substances.

A smaller blade, a throwing dagger called the 'Voice of the Mother' was then dipped into the mixture and drawn against the skin in what the Nagia called the **Vallaslin**-blood writing. Crude yet beautiful tattooing to be sure and one of great sanctity.

Bastila watched as the scout drew the blade against her insides of forearms, marking her skin with blood an ink, all the while uttering words to the Night Mother the goddess of the Nagia people. To the Blades a vow must be fulfilled even if the vow leads to death.

Bastila recalled speaking to the Nagai scout briefly before the mission on the Endar Spire.

'_Vow on your Night Mother you will see the mission through.' the Jedi demanded of the scout, standing proud and headstrong before her and the other Jedi in her company. _

'_I so vow!' And a blade was drawn against her palm._

'I should have known better.' Bastila chastised herself. She had committed the woman to this path. She knew that no Blade would betray an oath once given and she had meant to use that against the Nagai…against a legacy that was not Ravensong's but Revan's. 'I made her promise then I chastise her for keeping the vow. Oh. Masters, I have made a right mess of this.'

The sound of a very soft woman's voice lifted in whispered song touched the Jedi nearly causing her to openly weep if not for her Jedi control over her emotions.

'_When you see the black eyes, even if you don't want to you will fall in sadness. If you have no strength just pray in whisper. The challenge is_ _set by the last night. Death is not waiting it is pushing forward life. If there no more moon in the night sky just pray in whisper. Vows are made. Vows are kept the Mother of Night listens to whispered prayers.'_

Bastila in her youth had learned the beautiful language of the Nagai just so she could secretly converse with Revan. Forbidden secretes of forbidden love were whispered in the Blade's own mother tongue. Once Revan had been …everything to the young Jedi's heart. She knew the prayer that Ravensong now spoke to her goddess. She had once even heard Revan sing it as it was meant to be heard, just before she faced the Trials to become a full knight of the order. When she asked what it meant, Reven smiled sadly and simply answered. "_A prayer of the devout warrior monks of the Night Mother before they face a great challenge of body and mind. Think no more of it __**emma lath**__, put it far from your mind. I am a Jedi. Loyal to the order I should not dally in a heritage that isn't truly mine anymore. A heritage I don't even recall I was only three when I was taken. Come our masters will be waiting for me."_

Bastlia shook the memory from her mind and pretended not to watch as the other woman dressed herself.

Skye said nothing as she strapped various sheathed knives to her person a set of throwing knives to her forearms. On her calves were stilettos. Along her hips her honor blades, next to the holster of a blaster she rarely if ever drew. And across her back were the twin vibroswords she favored. Bastlia noted the Echani design of the blade but the hilts were Nagai. They were made to interlock so two blades became one double-blade sword. The Jedi knew the swords were something the scout had picked up here and adapted with either found or recovered mods to suit her needs.

When she had finished arming herself, Skye broke her fast with a high protean, high carb from the synthesizer to fuel her body for the coming trial.

Only after she had finished eating did she look at the Jedi. "I suspect you'll be staying her during the fight."

"Why do assume that?"

Skye didn't answer.

She didn't need to Bastlia already knew that the older woman was thinking. 'You're ready to reap the benefits of someone else dabbling in the Dark Side but you won't sully your hands to escape. Go on you're little merry Jedi way and leave the dirty work to those who are willing to what needs to be done. And save your lectures for padawans.'

"Princess." The scout said at last as if that one word summed everything up

"You said Princess not Jedi."

"I've seen the Jedi who fought against the Mandalorians. Sometimes they got their hands dirty for the greater good. You're not like them. Stay here, stay clean." Skye headed for the door of the apartment. "I have a man to kill so you can get off this planet." She said nothing more as left the apartment.

Bastila moved to follow but did not leave. She placed a hand upon the threshold. 'I know more about dirtying ones hand's than you could possibly know. It tears at me every time I look upon you.'

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The companions save one made their way into the arena. They were lucky and got near ringside seats. Mission was beyond anxious. It was just as she had been when she came rushing up to crying out that Zaalbar had been taken by slavers.

Zaalbar watched, measuring the woman he swore a life debt to. Carth like Mission seemed to be apprehensive. But why should he be? They had been in dozens battles now. Hell she killed a rancor and rode a swoop bike that nearly blew up with her on it. This somehow seemed more visceral and Onasi could not say why.

Perhaps it had to do with Bastila. She had joined them in the area but as soon as she took her seat she closed her eyes. He half expected the Jedi to be berating Ravensong for this gladiatorial event. But she said nothing. Onasi wasn't even sure if she was aware of the announcer's annoying opening.

It took him a moment to realize Bastlia was deep in meditation. She was in battle meditation! She was going to help Ravensong defeat the Starkiller. But why? Ravensong was an exceptional duelist and once more she had thermo detonator Zaalbar made. So why would she need the Jedi's help?

Carth half expected Ravensong to bolt from her entrance alcove once the announcer had finished prattling on. But she made no such move. Starkiller was the first to move, two no three concussion grenades followed by volley of blasterfire. Most seemed to have missed their mark those few that hit became absorbed by the energy shields.

She sprinted forward, zigzagging ever faster towards the Mandalorian. The crowed roared, cheering at the apparent suicidal dash.

"She's going to do it!" Carth heard someone who sounded a lot like Kelba yelp in excitement.

"Shoulder leap! Shoulder leap! Shoulder leap!" the audience cheered the Nagai on. How they loved that move. The chance to see it now with true conciseness had the crowd in a lather a near full blood frenzy of excitement. Their chants became deafening.

Starkiller was expecting it. He spirited ahead making sure the Blade couldn't get the upper hand on him. If she didn't have the distance she couldn't gain the momentum and she couldn't make the leap. He continued firering even as he changed her. Most of his shots were going wild; many hit and skimmed her armor.

Skye dodged and jinked, leaping into the air, spinning around. He couldn't get a lock on her anymore than she on him. All of a sudden she skidded to a halt; she spun on the balls of her feet her back now to the enemy. She dropped immediately to one knee, one sword feel before her feet the other her drawn and pointing outward behind her body bracing for impact. A fraction too late, Starkiller realized his mistake. He barreled directly into the blade skewering himself on the sword with all the speed and force of his greater size.

Before he fell on top of her she tucked into a forward shoulder roll, taking the dropped sword with her. She meant to spring up spin around and behead the Mandi with the next instant. She never got the chance. Something stuck the side of her head. Hard. So hard her left ear was bleeding. Her head ringing, her eyes blurred making her see triple.

Shaking the sensation she forced herself to focus. Starkiller with a sword stuck hilt deep in his gut was so high on stims he didn't even know he was dead. His body moved not in lurching jerks but with the locomotion of a rabid gundar.

Suddenly her throat was snatched in a vice grip, her own instinctively clutched at the hand around her neck. He was still charging, screaming in rage. Skye felt her back collide with wall of the arena. The only thing that spared her from loosing her wind was the fact she had exhaled before impact. He spun and her back hit the wall again and again. She couldn't reverse the grip on her throat; her whole body was numb from the continuous abusive slams. She felt her teeth rattle in her skull; she would not be able to take more. He spun meaning to ram her again up against the wall. She raised her legs, with draining strength and kicked outward with both feet into the pommel of the sword still jammed in Starkiller's chest. He screamed and dropped her. And fell to his knees.

Skye rolled away. Most expected her to have a blade in her hand, not a blaster. She raised the gun and fired two shots into the Manndalorian's head. He tottered forward and fell face first into the dirt of the arena. Skye staggered forward. The blaster still in her right hand, she lowered it, placed the muzzle directly against the back of his helmeted head and fired, twice more.

She couldn't even hear the roar of the crowd cheering and booing surrounding her. All she could feel was a great searing numbness. In what felt like slow motion she turned, holstered her weapon and went to retrieve her lost sword. The other was still sticking up like a mast in the body of her enemy.

The crowd was still shouting 'Mysterious Stranger' even as she emerged into Ajuur's court. Blood dripping from her ear, matting her long dark hair she looked every part the Bladed Demon of the Night Mother, from the legends.

"You will pay what is owed." She said in Huttese as soon as she stood before Ajuur's great form.

He laughed. "You will be paid the same price as all other matches."

"No." Skye snarled. "A death match warrants more."

"You will get paid noth…" He stopped the blaster pointed at him.

"You will pay what is owed. One thousand credits! Or I tell everyone your matches are fixed. Once more I _will_ kill you, I _will_ claim my purse and your cousin Zax will take over. Or maybe someone else will. I don't care. With the Sith blockade in place you have no power, slug. You _are_ impotent! How long do you think it will take for others to figure that the Hutts on Taris are nothing but excrement to be scrapped off the boot?"

"You wouldn't dare!"

"Try me."

"Take your blood money and get out of my club! You are no longer welcome here '_Champion!'_

Skye snatched the thousand credit chit from a trembling protocol droid and marched out of the private club into the cantina proper. She was practically mobbed by her fans as soon as she was spotted. Her body abused, swore and bloody didn't deter them from wanting to touch her, buy her a drink or offer up sex.

The only thing that stirred the waves of people was a sudden and very loud roar of a Wookie. The sea of people parted and four newcomers came forward. Bastila and Mission reached Skye first. Gaining envious and near murderous looks from the fans, Bastila sidled up to the wounded scout and slid her arms around her waist.

"Come, we will get you bathed and fixed up," she said in a very passable Tarsian accent. Skye dumbfounded only starred at the Jedi. What astounded the scout more was the kiss suddenly planted on her cheek. "Zaalbar, let's get our mistress home."

There was a barking answer and with the crowd still parted the great Wookie and Carth lead the way back out of the cantina. They continued this way almost until they reached the apartment complex. Skye was still starring at the Jedi.

"Was that not billable enough?" the Jedi asked still using the Tarissian accent.

"Ah. Yeah." Skye said stupidly.

"It is not wise to underestimate a Jedi," Bastila grinned for the first time in a long time.

"Ah. Yeah. Dumb thing to do."

"I think that kiss knocked her in the head harder than being backhanded with the side that blaster riffle." Carth laughed.

"Is that was what I was hit with?" Skye reached up and touched her throbbing head. Her skull felt of ten kinds of pain. Taking her hand down she saw it stick with blood.

"I fear you have concussion." Bastila said in a soft whisper. "And you're left arm is out of socket. We'll have to put it back in."

Skye nodded. Her head was still swimming. At least she knew it wasn't the little peck on the cheek but it was a fun fantasy. "I'm gonna need you're help, Big Guy." she addressed Zaalbar.

'It will hurt.' he said.

"I know."

He moved to stand in front of her knelt and put his hands into position to pop her shoulder back into lace.

"Shades! Zaalbar, Mission's right. You do need some mouth wash." the next moment she screamed in chorus with the sickening cracking sound of a joint clicking back into place.

Her body shuddered in lancing pain, nearly causing her to black out.

"You can't." Bastila said. The words seemed to echo within her mind or perhaps they were said there first and echoed into her ears. "Here, this will take the edge off." Again the words became a soft blanket surrounding her. Skye felt something go into her thigh and almost instantly the pain reseeded two more epi-shots followed.

Kolto swam in her bloodstream; Skye practically felt the miracle drug work its magic on injured and abused body. Only now was it safe for her to drift off. Only she didn't. She willed her body to stand, to walk. She wanted to wash the blood from her before succumbing.

Stumbling into the ensuite, she shed her blood stained armor and the sweat soaked clothing and stood naked before the mirror. She started when she saw the reflection. The blood on her dark hair left a strange red and black pattern so likened to the death mask of the Revanchrist, Skye gasped to see it.

The blow to her head did more damage than she first thought if she is seeing shades of the dead Dark Lord in mirrors. "Bloody stupid Jedi kisses anyway." she grumbled teetering on unsteady feet into the sonic shower.

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AN: If anyone recognizes certain words in the Nagai vocabulary it is no wonder. Yes it is Dalish from Dragon Age. And the prayers Ravensong/Revan use is from the song 'Rambler of the Slaves' from Divinity II. If you do not have the game youtube it under that title and you can hear it.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

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A truly stellar idea Skye thought to herself. Her whole body ached from head to toe. Okay she admitted being pelted with blaster fire even if most of them didn't strike home, and being repeatedly slammed into a wall by a stimmed-up power-armored mandie was not what one would call an inspiring much less intelligent decision but they needed the credits They needed to get Bastila off the planet and they needed to do it sooner rather than later.

Going up against packs of diseased infested rakghouls, crazed grammarians, a rancher monster and entering a race with a hyper-sensitive prototype accelerator was crazy enough but then to top off her more brilliant schemes Skye deiced that yes entering a death match with a mandie merc was the easiest and fastest way to make the crests. Yep truly stellar idea.

Next to all of that braking and entering the Sith base, stealing launch codes and high-jacking a crime bosses' ride was all academic in comparison.

Skye gave a look to her battered body in the mirror and grimaced. 'Yeah right. Crazy is as crazy does….What have you gotten yourself into this time Ravensong? I just should have said no when the Jedi came calling. Tell them I had other obligations. But nooo. I had to go and say yes of course you will have my aid…' She shook her head and immediately regretted the action as it made her scull ache along with her entire spinal column. "You know if they say it's my duty one more time, I'm going to tell them screw you, I'm going home. I'm not playing in this sandbox any more and I'm taking my toys with me!'

She rolled her blue eyes. Knowing of course she'd never truly do that. She had too much of a sense of duty to even carryout the idea of going AWOL but damn is sure felt good to think it!

A direct assault on the base was more than foolhardy it was immediate death. There had to be away in that wouldn't get them all killed. Marching up and saying she had captured the 'lost Jedi' wasn't going to work, she already affirmed that Shan was nothing more that a Tarissian noble slaten. And Bastila's little performance after the Death Match had cemented the deception.

What they needed was one hell of a distraction…or very very subtle. The problem was that uppity Jedi was about as subtle as a bantha stampede. Sneaking in wasn't going to be an option. The scout knew Shan would insist on coming along, hell the human would assume control and so far her leadership qualities were lacking. Now was not the time thrust her into that position even if she believed she had every right to it. Aw well nothing is to be done but get on with it.

Walking back in to the common room, Skye stepped into the middle of an argument.

"…is in no condition to go into the Sith base. Therefore I will take the droid and acquire the necessary codes."

"And how do you plan on do that Bastila? Walk up to that big door and plug Tee-Three in and hopes he splices it before patrolling guards spot you?" Carth said

Skye looked at the little astromec droid, she didn't fully know what Kang had Janice program it with but she did know it had state-of-the-art slicing capabilities. It if could bypass the firewall of a Sith base then it could do a lot more than that.

"Actually that is exactly what we're going to do." Ravensong said. "But we're going to need a bit of a diversion."

"We? You are not fit for battle." Bastila said haughtily yet with the undercurrents of concern coloring her voice. "However, from what I heard from the others you have quite brilliant ideas, if not unorthodox, what is it do you have planned?"

'Yep assumed control, just like I knew she would.' "We'll argue on fit for duty latter, right now I'll layout what I have in mind. You've noticed all those protocol droids walking around? I'll have Tee-Three initiate a virus and make those clankers go a little more 'helpful'." she grinned, "by making them become a public menace. We just get a micro processor to reprogram them in mass. We also need to stage a riot somewhere near that hate-monger across Nall's shop. I'm thinking a few drunks I know might just do the trick. A little Jedi mental nudge will be our insurance. All you have to so is make them a little more confrontational, their drunken stupor will do the rest.

"Those silverbacks go chasing after the dysfunction tinnies and attempt to bring the riot under control, leaving us a very small window to make our move. Of course knowing you'll want to be there Bastila, you'll be incognito. We still have one of those troopers's armor, put that on and you'll blend right in, and three of us will strap on the stealth generators and we take out the opposition."

"With only three stealth belts that leaves one here." Mission said. "Who's it going to be?"

Ravensong gave the kid a long silent look.

"Me? No way! I'm going in with you!" she all but stomped her foot in protest.

"Mission, you're good slicer, I'll give you that, even better at demolitions but it's too dangerous." the Nagia shook here head.

"Living on the streets in the Lower City is dangerous." the girl protested. "And I've been doing that since I was five years old!"

"She does have a point. If anyone should remain behind it is you, Ravensong. You're not hundred percent." Carth said. "But I get the feeling that isn't going to happen."

"Damn right it isn't." the scout crossed her arms.

"About this distraction of yours, it had too many variables. Too many innocent lives will become caught in the crossfire." Bastila said evenly. "It is too risky to pursue such a path, however there is an alternative. That silver tongue of yours can get us into the base, especially if it is you wearing the armor and I the stealth generator."

"If we do it that way it means we face more troopers." Skye said.

"Enough innocents have suffered because of the battle overhead, we will not add to their numbers." The Jedi became forceful. "If we must confront more Sith troopers in the stronghold so be it."

"You're putting a lot of faith in her ability to finagle her way in." Carth said. "She's good but I don't know if she's good enough to swindle the masses." He quickly looked to the Nagai and held up a hand as if in surrender, "No offense, but face it that's a lot of minds to control."

Skye nodded. "Well maybe I don't have to swindle them all, especially if I allow the reputation of the Mysterious Stranger's more recent exploit to speak for me. Maybe hire myself out to them…hypothetically say in exchange for a pass off this rock."

"If you go in as MS, that leaves a stealth belt free, then I _can_ come along." Mission said in earnest. "Besides what if you need my particular skills? Tee-Three will be busy dealing with the computers getting the codes and all; you may need someone else who can slice into an isolated computer system or even droids. I know you can do it and so can Big Z, but you'll need me. It can't be any more dangerous than rakghouls, rancor monsters and a base full of spiced up swoopers. "

Skye opened her mouth then snapped it shut with the click of her teeth. "Very well, Mission. But you stay out of sight until I say, is that clear?"

The young twi'lik nodded excitedly. "I promise."

-KOTOR-KOTOR-KOTOR-KOTOR-KOTOR-KOTOR-

In the end, it was Carth Onasi who was wearing the silver armor, leaving Bastila, Mission and Zaalbar with the stealth generators. Following directly behind the three visible companions so no one would bump into them or rather a solid form no one saw.

"I just hope this works out better than that farm boy's plan the last time I tried something like this." Skye grumbled.

"I remember you saying something about that." Carth said, his voice muffled and tinny thought the helmet. "You said it didn't go well."

"It ended in farm boy's death and the mission was a fracking bust. Dressing up in enemy uniforms never-ever works no matter what the spy-vids say. Someone will always realize they are being duped and then the jigs up."

"Hopefully they won't realize it until after we're passed the door. At that time it won't matter if they realize they have been infiltrated or not." Bastila whispered somewhere to Ravensong's left shoulder.

"Good point."

They approached in time to see a handful of silverbacks emerging from the great door. One approached a little faster than the others. With her helmet off it was easy to see that it was the blonde Sarna.

"Good, we can use her to our advantage." Carth said quietly.

"My Lady Sith." Skye bowed theatrically. "Now isn't this fortuitous?"

The Sith woman smirked. It wasn't an expression of mirth but of a woman scorned. "I'd say so."

Bastila had felt the stirrings of malaise in the Force as soon as the Sith troopers were approaching, in truth the whole planet was rife with it. But coming from the blonde one…the woman called Sarna it was particularly wafting off of her like the fetid stink off a corpse.

The Jedi prepped her mind to quickly send a mental warning to Ravensong to beware the woman but it was not necessary. Nearly as good as readying body language as a Lorridian, Skye shifted her stance ever so subtlety into one that allowed for a swift offensive maneuvering of blades.

"Who is that with you?" Sarna gave a look Carth. Who immediately felt exposed even under the silver helm.

'She is right…disguising yourself as the enemy never works. The jig is most defiantly up…' the pilot thought.

"Don't know." Skye shrugged nonchalantly, "we were simply walking in the same direction. I was hoping to run into a familiar face. I want to meet with the Governor."

Another of the silverbacks removed his helm; it turned out to be the man Skye knew only as Luke, the one who attempted to recruit her back at the party. "And why may I ask is that?"

"As you may or may not know I recently slew Starkiller in a death match, and becoming the grand champion of the same arena, add wining the season opener of the Taris swoop-trek I think I have proven my abilities. I believe I may be of more use as a freelance currier of the Sith than wasting away here on a retainer however fat."

"You'd join the Sith?" Sarna said incredulously. "I thought you said that wasn't for you."

"Wearing the uniform still isn't, which is why I said freelance. After all that is what I am. A currier, a grounded currier is of no use to anyone. My true skills are wasted here on this rock, when I should be amongst the stars."

"And what skills are those, Skye?" Sara sneered. "The theft of Sith uniforms and playing with noble whores."

'Oh dear…she is a bit jealous of my Jedi…' Skye thought. "What uniforms do you speak of my dear Lady Sith?" Skye said oozing sensuality.

"We caught an Aqualish with three of our uniforms just after that party we had."

Once more Skye gave her most alluring sultry look enough so that the chilled iron in Sarna's eyes began to erode and melt. Striding up as confidently she had when facing the rancor, the Nagai touched the face of Sarna. "Oh… I recall that night…though the details are a bit cloudy due to all the ale we drank…" here she nipped the woman's ear causing the Sith to moan softly. "Still a good night, do you not recall the song we sang in your bed? It didn't take much to make you purr."

In a lower huskier whisper she added, "If you think I had enough talent to bed you and steal away your shinny uniforms then I must be some sort of magician or perhaps a sorceress …" Skye licked the Sith's neck nearly buckling the blonde's knees. "A Force wielder perhaps?"

Bastila watched struggling to keep her seething emotions in check. She detested to see Skye wooing this woman even if she could read it was all a farce. She was not so sure that Carth knew it to be a charade. For in him the Jedi sensed dark strings. The man already saw conspiracies everywhere he went, watching Skye weave her magic with the Sith woman only seeded that paranoia.

"I…I…that night…" Sarna uttered nearly undone by the seduction. "The booze was spiked… After the party our uniforms were gone missing. As I said we found an Aqualish with three of the uniforms but how he came to have them..."

"I know how it looks," Skye uttered softly, "but rest assured it was not I that gave your missing uniforms away to any Aqualish." She added softly and fired the blaster she had in her hand: point-blank into the belly of the Sith. A look of complete surprise came across Sarna's eyes before she fell dead Ravensong's feet. That expression was mirrored in the eyes of the companions. "I took them for myself."

One of the four Sith with Sarna were so shocked by the Mysterious Stranger's action he hesitated, and it cost him. It was Bastila who moved first. So attuned to the Force, to Ravensong she knew the scout's actions even before she enacted them.

Snap-hiss of a lightsaber engaged turned four heads to the spot to the Nagai's right they believed empty. One such head fell from the shoulders even as it turned-the man named Luke toppled bonelessly near Sarna's body. The moment of hesitancy might have cost Luke his life but still the others were trained soldiers. They recovered swiftly from MS's betrayal and reacted just as quickly.

"Jedi!" one of them cried.

They fell back drawing their blaster riffles rapidly, counting on the fellow silverback that had been with the treacherous Mysterious Stranger to aid them. They had not expected the man to fire on them! Nor had they expected a wookie to suddenly appear from thin air, or a twi'lik girl to be at the hairy brute's side. The beast took hold and snapped the neck of the one who had cried out. The last was shot both from behind by the street urchin and frontally by the turn-coat trooper.

"Well so much for stealth." Carth said looking at the fallen bodies. He never stopped looking at Skye. He had never even suspected she would have killed that Sith woman by seduction. He didn't know if he should feel applaud by the fact Ravensong so blithely gut-shot the other woman or admiration that had used the Sith's emotions against her and took the open opportunity to kill the enemy. He knew he didn't like the conflict in his mind or the conflict of what he felt towards the Nagia. It was almost as if she had been challenging the Revanchrist, and that set off a whole set of warning bells in his mind.

"Despite the fact we quickly dispatched them, this will draw unwanted attention." Bastila said sagely. Her words interrupted Carth's internal monolog, enough to draw his attention back to the dead bodies.

"Tee-Three open that door." Skye commanded. "And do it quickly."

The droid bleeped an affirmative and moved to obey his orders. "We have a few seconds at best. Less if one of them hit his wrist-comm and opened a bloody channel to their superiors."

"I don't think they had the time." The Jedi said. "I think we'd be swarmed by back-up if that were so."

"Good point." came Ravensong.

"We gonna leave them here or attempt to get rid of them?" Mission asked.

Skye looked over her shoulder to the little astromec droid still working at the doors security lock, he seemed to be nearly finished with the task. "We leave them, but only after stacking them and putting on the stealth belts onto their bodies. We don't have the time to do anything else and we're out in the open here. There's no place to ditch the corpses."

"Cordwood corpses. Wonderful" Carth groused. "We better get to it then. Like you said we have a microsecond window of time."

Skye only shrugged. She riffled through the Sith bodies taking thermal clips, credits and a what looked to be armory pass-coded keycard. No doubt measures both in security and disciplinarian had been taken since the theft of so many uniforms with in the past couple of days. There were the three she and Carth had stolen and those that poor Aqualish from the Hidden Beks had taken. No wonder Sarna was angered and suspicious of Skye; it hadn't all been jealously over the 'Tarissian noblewoman' becoming a body-slave.

Bastila turned in time to catch the expression of regret on the young scout's face. But it was Carth that spoke even as they approached the door the T3 now had open.

"That was a bit cold-blooded. Is that what they teach you in that monastery of yours? How to murder?"

Skye didn't even look at the human when she answered her voice heavy with sarcasm. "Yes of course I was. You manipulate events to your favor, eliminate your enemy as necessary and take possession of an opportunity to best your foe when you can. It's called survival. What do you care in the manner of Sarna's death was she not a Sith? Was she not the enemy?" now she turned and pinned Onasi with an expression of…nothingness. "This is the difference: you were trained in a bootcamp to kill your foe several meters away or from orbit, Flyboy. A Nagai scout is thought how to do so when you are only inches from your enemy and you are looking directly into their eyes when you take life from them. All death is cold."

She strode ahead without further word leaving Carth starring after her with his mouth opening and closing not unlike a fish. Bastila was in the Nagai's shadow just as Onasi gathered his wits and jogged up to the Jedi. "Do you really think someone like that should be trained as a Jedi? What if she goes all dark and twisty just like Revan? Maybe that's why Revan turned, because it's how the Nagai are raised. You know what they say: 'All Blades are killers at heart.' Maybe the Masters should just take the Force away from her before she comes into her own."

Bastila seethed inside for the presumption. "Revan was raised in the Jedi Temple on Corrisant from the age of three, Carth. Or are you making some racial judgment? And if you listened to Skye you would have known she was being sardonic."

-KOTOR-KOTOR-KOTOR-KOTOR-KOTOR-KOTOR-

The foyer of the base was completely unlike any of them expected with its spartan white painted walls and titled floors. Then again the building hadn't started out in Sith custody, it had been the Tarsian municipal chamber of commerce. As soon as the occupation commenced, Malak sent one of his governors to over see the operation. And obviously there had been a change in the internal decoration or rather a removal of one.

"What is it with military institutions and the blasé?" Skye wondered aloud not expecting an answer.

"I suppose they feel the utilitarian look clashes less with the uniforms." Bastlia said so straight faced and so dead-panned it caused the Nagai to burst out laughing. She had to give the Jedi credit for having wit even if it was subtle.

The foyer gave way to Reception. It was rather shocking to see a Twi'lek manning the desk, though it shouldn't have been considering that the Sith weren't as xenophobic as the dominate populace of Taris.

"Hey- you can't come in here! This is a restricted area! You better tell me what you're doing here or I'm going to hit the alarm" she demanded.

"I have exactly no time for this. Bastila get rid of her." Skye ordered. "Tee-three, Mission get to work on security. Carth, Zalbaar flank the doors."

Hearing the order given the young Twi'lek nearly reached for the alarm button but the Jedi's stopped her. Her voice soft, soothing entered her mind in such a compelling fashion she gave into the suggestion easily. "You are unhappy with the working conditions here. You want to quit and good riddance to the Sith."

"I'm unhappy about the working conditions here. I quit." She moved from behind her semicircular desk and headed for the door and tossed over her shoulder. "If you're here to clear them out then good riddance to the Sith. Shoot them in the heads because they don't have hearts."

T3-M4 moved to where the receptionist had just vacated and began downloading the security codes for the base: door codes, the base-layout and slicing into the patrol droids. He blurted out a serious of beeps to his new master asking a question.

"No don't shut them down. Disengage their IFF drives, turn them on their Sith masters. If you can do the same to any security turrets that'd help too."

The little droid bleeped what seemed to be an affirmation. Then it made a worrying kind of sound.

"Wait? What?" Skye's voice raised in pitch.

"He's right." Mission said looking at the monitors. "Looks like the Sith have an assault droid near the lift that goes up to the Governor's offices. It will be pretty nasty fight in the small confines of the building, especially in that area."

The droid bleeped his agreement.

"Tee-three can you deactivate it?" Ravensong asked.

There a blurting mechanical raspberry sound in the resounding negative way.

"Then can you at least power down its weapons systems, shields… anything?"

There was a hopeful bleep.

"Take down the shields then. It will help some." Skye's voice carried the notes of grudging acceptance.

"Zalbaar and I can take care of that big clanker, you and Bastila see to the governor." Carth suggested.

"Sounds like a plan. Mission, stay here at the desk and pose as the receptionist that just left. I doubt any of the troopers pay that much attention to their girl who sits there. For once their bigotry of all Twi'leks look the same will work in our favor. I want you see if you can't detour any back-up from storming the place when the shit hits the fan. In fact see what sort of chaos you can create with dispatch, send the silverbacks to different parts of the city, anywhere but here. Cut into their communications, feed them false reports and misinformation as long as you can. I don't know how long you can do it internally but anything you can do to help, I'll be grateful for."

"You got it." Mission nodded. "This is going to be fun!" She clapped her hands gleefully if not a bit manically. "They will be so turned around they won't know whose coming and going."

Skye smiled at the girl's enthusiasm. She was a might worried she'd have to talk Mission into staying behind where it was infinitely safer than rushing headlong into the base with hair-trigger troopers shooting at anything not in silver. The other adults in the group including the Zalbaar gave the scout a look that said: 'Well played.' "Tee-three stay with Mission, give her back-up when needed but I'm going to need you to purge their security systems. If there are any prisoners in the detention areas, override the codes and set them free."

"You're letting out prisoners? You don't know what they did to get them in there." Carth protested.

"I doubt any of them did anything more heinous than say: 'Hey the Sith suck bantha poodoo! Darth Malak is nothing more than a steal-jawed meatbag with a stick up his ass.' Oh and let's not forget the truly horrible crimes of protesting how their rights were ripped away from them. You know you all things irredeemable us non-humans do."

"You're going to use them as a distraction." Bastila realized.

"I'd say cannon fodder." Carth counter-pointed ignoring Skye's last comment.

Mission was snickering with the visual description of Malak as a stick puppet…Skye had such a fun sense of humor.

Skye turned, "Do you wish innocent lives to perish when this place is blown to hell and gone? Which will happen when you and Big Z take out that assault droid. At least free they have a chance to make a run for it and yes it will be a distraction." She didn't say she knew they were as good as canon fire and dead, she didn't have too. "I will not debate this Onasi. We have a task before us, and the only way to get it done is to do it."

They spit up after leaving the reception area with the pilot and Wookie taking the west leaving the east wing with the computer core and Sith governor to the women.

The sounds of battle were already commencing, the patrol droids with their Identify- Friend-Foe systems hacked they became unwitting allies to the companions. The Sith troopers didn't know what hit them. With many scrambling to avoid being shot, others trying to neutralize the sudden threat and still more attempting to regain a foothold were unprepared when assault came from four invaders sweeping into the place on two fronts.

Communications were scrambled, with static their only answer, the troopers desperately fell back upon their intense training. It would not be enough. The enemy began to realize it too. They began converging in bottle necked areas in hopes to better defend themselves against four well trained warriors, and berserk droids. Barracks and labs were no safe harbor, even as they barricaded themselves; the troopers had sprung a trap. Environmental systems overloaded causing conduits to overheat and explode, killing many almost instantly.

Bastila reacted fast, causing a bubble of shimmering energy to rise up and swallow both her and Ravensong least they because in the blast radius. Shrapnel became harmless detritus as it slammed into the Force-barrier. Breathing heavily super-heated air and ozone filled their lungs. Their heads rang with sound. Overhead fire and toxin suppressants systems automatically activated extinguishing the threat from spreading.

"Handy thing that Force." Skye said glibly thankful.

For a second it looked as if Bastila was going to rebuke her for such levity when speaking of the Force but as soon as the expression was there it was gone. "Indeed." was all she said on the matter. "I assume that was Mission's doing."

"I did say keep a look out for anything that could aid us. Guess she found a way." the Nagia answered.

*Skye. Skye you reading me?*

Skye grinned. "Speak of Demons of the Night Wind…. Yeah, Mission I read you. I assume that little explosion was you?"

*Yeah. Cool wasn't it? Sent one Big Z and Carth's way too, they had a bunch of guys hold up in a computer lab. I can see everything from the security console. It's great.*

"Where are they now?"

*Looks like they're headed to face off that big assault droid. I think you've got a clear run to the lift. Ahead of you is some sort of brig. There were force cadges but Tee-Three and I sliced them just like you said. There was only one active cage though. I don't know who was in it. Sorry if its bad news, but you did say…*

"It's alright, Mission. You did good. From the schematics Tee-Three downloaded there is an armory just to the left of the reception desk, get into it and take what armaments you can, sabotage the rest."

*Will do. Mission out.*

Survivors of the barracks attack silverbacks and grey bellies both rushed out into the hall, headlong into blades of a Jedi lightsaber and the metal of a Nagai.

Bastila's twin blades deflected blaster bolts back to their source felling two more. One took vibroblade into his stomach, another one a throwing dagger in the throat.

Blaster riffles were no match for the power of the Force. A single, powerful push scattered them like little tin soldiers. Before they regained their feet, Skye tossed two grenades one cohesive the other a fragment snuffing out the last of them.

Not pausing to take in the collateral damage the two sprinted forward down corridor that lead to the lift that would take them to the second level. Just as they were entering the detention area, a terrified Duros came rushing out nearly colliding with Ravensong.

"Get out of my way…Oh! It's you!" The man squeaked in his own language. "Remember me from the apartments, you helped me against the Sith and I ditched the bodies for you?"

"Right, of course."

"They caught up to me though. I wasn't clever enough it seems. But if this is you're doing getting me out an all, thank you thank you!"

"You're more than welcome; you may want to get the hell out of here. I'm brining this whole place down."

"Good! Splatter them into paste."The terrified man scurried past the women and disappeared down the long corridor presumably for the exit.

Skye made a move for the lift but was stopped short by Bastila's hand on her arm. "Wait a moment, Skye. Ever since we've come here I have felt something in the Force. At first I felt it was the Sith we dispatched outside, but it has grown stronger here."

"That's only natural, were in the heart of Sith territory."

"No it isn't that either. I believe it is the governor. He's a Force wielder. Beware Skye do not underestimate him."

"A Force wielder. A dark Jedi, like those that stormed the Endar Spire?

"Very likely. You will stand back and let me confront him. Your connection to the Force is strong and wild; he will use that against you. I won't allow that to happen. As you told Carth this is not open for debate."

They entered the lift weapons drawn and at the ready, even as they were reaching the top, Skye turned to her companion. "You know I have something he won't be expecting. You know that low yield thermal detonator I had Zalbaar make for me? I still have it. I didn't get a chance to use it when I faced down Starkiller. If we chuck this at the governor, he won't literally won't know what hit him. And he sure as hell will be taken by surprise."

"And what collateral damage to his office? Such a thing may well damage the Intel we're after."

"There is that. Okay so no explosives. It was just a thought."

"We can not use it but the threat of it may make him more amenable to negotiations."

Dark eyebrows shot up to meet the hairline. "What kind of negotiations do you call that?"

"Hostile."

Skye grinned. She was defiantly warming up to the Jedi.

The hall leading from the lift to office was a short one. Not a great deal of time to prepare for what no doubt would become a hostile confrontation. A Jedi was trained to adapt to situations quickly, fortunately so were frontline scouts.

Without preamble the women stormed the office startling the man within. He spun around glaring, his left hand going for his sidearm almost instantly.

"Who dares break my meditation? You will pay for interrupting my….wait." the man took a step forward, studying both young women before him. One he sensed was a Jedi the other however…the other was…something else, could be something more than a Jedi. "I sense the Force is strong with you very strong."

At first Skye assumed he was speaking of Bastila but the bald human kept starring at her. An uneasy feeling rattled in her gut. He was reaching out, attempting to touch her through her connection to the Force.

"They call that a violation of personal space, you know." She said flippantly.

"You felt that. Good. Good…Your connection is wild and untamed. I can aid you young one, I can aid you along the path."

"Help me? How?" Skye scoffed. "You are no master Force wielder. You're not even armed with a lightsaber."

"True, I have not yet earned my lightsaber, however if I bring you before my Master he will reward me with mine and you shall earn yours as well, young one."

"Hum…yeah tempting but I'll pass. Red really isn't my color."

"You're a fool!"

"I've heard that one before sleemo. Let's get this over with, I have things to do, other places to be, other people to kill."

"If you will not join you will pay for such insolence."

"Heard that one too." Skye said. Even as she had him talking her hand had slowly gone to the holster at her right hip, gingerly withdrawing her blaster. As soon as the last syllable pasted her lips she fired.

The shot landed directly in the chest only his armor's initial kinetic barriers stopped the bullets from fully penetrating the cuirass. But it was enough to knock him back off his feet. Bastila moved.

The Force could not be stopped by technology; the armor's shields were inert next to its awesome power. Hurtled into the far wall by a full Force push the Governor slammed so hard he nearly lost consciousness.

The Force doesn't take sides Light or Dark and its wielders have equal access. The Sith beat back the telemetric attack with one of his own, shoving Bastila in the chest with the force of a small explosion, throwing the Jedi backward across the room.

The human was sure on her feet. She landed upright and launched herself back into the fray. Golden yellow lightsaber flashed—the governor's vibroblade came up too slowly to block a blow to his chest, allowing the Jedi's blade to slash deeply across his armored throat. The governor staggered backward, gauntleted hand upraised to the smoking wound.

There was no blood. Instead of pressing the attack, Bastila stood her ground. Despite herself she was a surprised as the Sith governor. Ravensong took the advantage, twin swords in hand she slammed both into his sides, puncturing through the armor into both kidneys.

This time there was blood, spilling over the scout's hands, she held him dying on his feet Bastlia looked him in the eyes, "You are not dead yet, you do not need to follow this path. There are many to choose from, they need not all lead to the same place. We can save your life; you need only to turn away."

Coughing up blood, the man teetered on his feet; the only thing holding him in place was Ravensong's blades. "Trying to turn me away from the Dark side, Jedi whore? Go to hell!" He spat in Bastila's face. His blood and spittle struck her in the cheek; instinctively she wiped it away with the black of her hand.

"Now is that anyway to treat a lady? What would you're mother say?" Ravensong said twisting the blades effectively killing him. She drew her blades out, shook the blood off before sliding them home into their sheaths.

"You have a very cavalier attitude, Ravensong."

"Only very slightly." She tipped her head as a courtier before royalty.

Bastlia was on the verge of telling the scout it was not a quality best found in a Jedi but held her tongue at the last moment for she knew more than one master who was more than a bit reckless and a little more than cavalier. Instead of chiding the young Nagai she turned her attention to the dead man at their feet.

"You gave him a chance, he rejected it," came a pragmatic response. "You can't force people into accepting your help. Besides when you sign up for the military, you go in knowing there are risks. It's not like families can say 'we only thought you had to bake cookies'." Without preamble the scout started looting the body, searching for the OSD that contained the access codes. Not finding it on the body they expanded their search to the rest of the office.

They found the codes in hidden alcove within the desk, along with a handful of credit chits worth hundreds. Ravensong swiftly pocketed them.

Bastila activated her wrist-comm, radioing the second team, alerting them on their success and ordering a status report from their end.

*…it was a little harry at first but we managed to neutralize the droid. Fortunately Zalbaar had another one of those low yield thermo detonators, combined with a few photonic bursts from a riffle Mission recovered from the armory took the thing right out. She and that little astromec also initiated Ravensong's idea about slicing into the main CPU core and causing the protocol droids to create a disruption in the streets. Combined with the jammed and garbled transmissions we should be able to evacuate without engaging in major opposition.*

"Excellent work all of you. We will rendezvous in the lobby in the next minute. Shan out."

It was almost anticlimactic when they exited the base the companions found no opposition to confront them. Still it was a blessing for it meant they had a bit more time before all hell broke lose. When it did they did not intend to be anywhere near the base.

Rather than rush from the compound the companions ambled along the street as might tourists as to attract less attention. It seemingly worked for they passed two Sith troopers they were not stopped for either questioning or to be placed under arrest.

"We have to get to the Lower City before our luck runs dry." Mission said. "This whole going unnoticed thing is making me jittery."

"I know what you mean I half expect to hear a voice shrill out 'Hey you there! Stop!' any moment now." Skye nodded. "Come on Canderous and our meal-ticket out of here is waiting."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Skye sauntered into Javannar's cantina, plunked herself down on a chair at Canderous Ordo's booth, rested her feet on the tabletop and ordered a top-self Tarissian ale on the Manndalorian's tab.

"Very confident of yourself aren't you Whelp?" the man gruffed, though his lips tweaked into a half smile. "Little birds told me you not only slaughtered Starkiller in the ring but the Sith base was recently struck by a terrorist cell."

"Terrorist cell, you don't say." Skye said, taking a moment to snatch the tankard of ale from the server's tray as he approached rather timidly to the table. "So your little birds say anything else?"

"They said, the terrorists were captured and order relatively speaking restored. I'm guessing the trouble the Upper City is still experiencing with the protocol droids is also your handy work?"

The Nagai took a very long draught of her drink and looked coyly over the rim of her glass but didn't answer.

"You're well informed." Carth commented his arms followed stubbornly over his chest. "I guess being top bitch in Kang's kennel of kath hounds has its payoffs." The pilot thought himself rather clever for coming up with that one. Maybe Ravensong was rubbing off on him.

"I'll take lip from the Whelp here, but not from the likes of bootlicks like yourself, Republic." the older man growled. "You haven't earned the right."

Before Onasi could spout off something in retort, Ravensong held up her hand to stall his words with her own. "He is right though. You are well informed, and your information is _almost_ correct." she held up the coded OSD. "We weren't captured, and I in no way intend to be orderly anytime soon." Putting her feet firmly back on the floor and finishing her drink she starred the Mandalorian directly. "Now it's time for your end of the bargain. After we scuttle this dump, find a safe port we can part ways, until then you and I are stuck together like newlyweds on first night."

Canderous barked out a laugh. "There was a reason I liked you, Whelp. A deal is a deal. I can get you and probably your Jedi friend here into the estate. The rest will have to stay behind."

Once more it was Carth who piped up with suspicions and questions. "Why just Ravensong and Bastila?"

"Don't you ever muzzle your pets, Whelp?"

Skye shrugged.

Snorting impatience the Mandalorian began to spell it all out. "One, the kid here is the face Kang will know, being that she's the Mysterious Stranger, slayer of Starkiller, arena grand champion and winner of the Lower City season opener. Two, Kang will know that a Republic woman was offered up as the Vulkers' portion of the purse and the Whelp won her. None of the rest of you will pass for a billable companion- a Wookie, a Twi'lek street urchin and a grunt from the Republic, how is that supposed to pass inspection? You can't all come; there is no way I can pass that off. And forget about the droid, Kang will know it was to be his. It's the Jedi or just Ravensong. And even that's iffy if the Princess doesn't act the good little submissive slave."

Onasi hated it but the Mandalorian was one hundred percent right, there was no way anyone other than Bastlia could pass as a companion to Ravensong. The dislike of the idea was plainly visible upon the Jedi's face but she knew for the sake of the mission, pride had to be set aside. The scout needed someone reliable, someone she could count on to cover her back when the fighting broke out, and who better than a Jedi in disguise? Onasi may not like the idea but the more Bastila thought about it, the better she liked it, she'd have it no other way.

"So just how are you going to get us into Davik's estate anyway?" Skye asked.

"Davik is always looking to recruit new talent. I'll tell him you won the championship of the arena and of course the season opener on the swoop track. I'll mention that you're interested in working for the Exchange. I'll say I brought you in for him to check you out. He'll put you up for a couple of days, do back-ground checks, that's standard procedure."

"This is too risky, we must find another way." Bastila shook her head.

Canderous scoffed. "You've got a better plan, Sister or are you objecting because you didn't think of it?"

Behind her Ravensong nodded enthusiastically much to the Manndalorian's amusement.

"No, I don't have another plan. I am not so comfortable leaving my life in your hands however."

"I can say the same, Sister. That makes us even. Fortunately we both want off this rock right? Besides I'm guessing your girl has a similar plan. I know she was asking about ships…Kang's ship, the Ebon Hawk in particular. While Davik checks you out, we steal the Hawk and escape Taris. Come on, I've got an airspeeder, the sooner we're off Taris the better."

"Of that we are in agreement." Carth uttered.

"Ordo, we will consent to this plan however we will not relinquish the codes until we have the ship and all of us are aboard." Bastila said. To demonstrate her ultimatum she removed the OSD from inside Ravensong's tackvest pocket handed the codes to Carth.

A brief look of distain crossed the Manndalorian's face. "Deal."

"Before we leave there is a matter I have to see to with Zax." a cocky grin slipped across Ravensong's lips. "He owes me money."

The others watched her disappear towards the bounty hunters alcove. Canderous turned back to the others with a strange expression on his face. "She can be…forceful, can't she?"

"You have no idea." Carth murmured.

"She knows what she's doing and how to get things done." Mission felt obligated to add.

There was no arguing that. Ravensong's list of accomplishments was testament enough. Bastila was right; though others helped, the young scout was a catalyst for each event, for each accomplishment. Bastila continued to watch the older women with a keen eye. The Nagai's connection to the Force…was staggering. It was to the Jedi as if for the briefest moments she could see the living Force inside the dark haired women thriving and pulsating with each breath, each movement. Surely the Masters had to be well aware of this…development. How could they not be?

A few moments latter Skye was swaggering back to the companions tossing what looked like a handful of five-hundred credit chits in her hand. Shoving them into one of her pockets she flashed a very feral grin. "Done and dusted no more bounties on the market. Guess I broke the bank with Starkiller. Got back all the money we spent getting Teethree."

"I hate to admit it but in days to come we very well may need those credits, however distasteful you came by them." Bastila said softly.

"Now if your done dinking around with the Hutts how's about we head for the estate?" Canderous asked already heading for the doors of the cantina. Bastila and Skye hurried after him.

-KOTOR-KOTOR-KOTOR-KOTOR-KOTOR-KOTOR-

Taking an aircar to the estate gave the Jedi and scout a good view of the defensive parameter. Skye looked down and recognized the hanger for what it was. Getting out of the hanger wasn't going to be an issue; Kang had his architects design the structure for very easy egress. A line of turrets aligned the circumference of the rooftop, not hard to miss considering they were all trained on them. If they didn't put them out of commission before they stole the Ebon Hawk they would no doubt be trained on her was they zipped away.

"Since the Sith hit dirt and dug-in, Kang's become paranoid." The Mandalorian explained as he keyed in the codes that gave a sulking look to his companions as he opened communications and said. "Open the backdoor, the dogs come home."

"Really?" Skye scoffed. "That's the code phrase?" She laughed. "Guess I was spot on when I called you Hound."

"I said you earned the right to that sharp tongue of yours Whelp, but don't push it. I'm not big on patients."

"Mandalorians never are."

To that the man snorted but nodded his head. He could not disagree.

-KOTOR-KOTOR-KOTOR-KOTOR-KOTOR-KOTOR-

Far above the world patrolling the stars like fraxon sharks the depths of the oceans, sailed Darth Malak's armada. Upon the bridge of Malak's flagship stood the Sith Lord, brooding as he stared down at the planet beneath him. To his left a grey-haired human male wearing the uniform of a fleet admiral approached.

Saul Karath spoke. "You summoned me, Lord Malak?"

The Sith Lord didn't even turn when he spoke. "The search for Bastila is taking too long. We can not risk her escaping Taris. Destroy the entire planet."

Karath's astonishment over the declaration is evident upon his lined face. Over his years in the wars both the current one and one waged against the savage might of the Mandalorians, Saul had seen many things, carried out suspect orders and even gave them. He had seen the destruction of so many planets by the Mandalorians hands and raged for such atrocities. "The…the entire planet, Lord Malak? But there are billions of people on Taris! We'd be slaughtering countless innocent civilians. Not to mention our own people still on the surface."

Malak did turn then, only his eyes betrayed his emotions. His distain so very clear in his dark orbs. "Your predecessor once made the mistake of questing my orders. Admiral, surely you are not so foolish as to make the same mistake."

Saul knew of the man the Dark Lord referred to. Admiral Evin Keals died by being chocked to death when the orders to annihilate Telos were questioned. The deaths hadn't stopped there. Two of the man's sons and his only daughter were all serving aboard the same ship had been executed to drive home the notion that Darth Malak would broke no refusal to obey orders. The manner in which they died was severe.

Keal's daughter, a bridge officer was beheaded by Dark Jedi's lightsaber. The platoon Keal's sons belonged were made to stand in formation with their fellow soldiers. Every tenth man was singled out and then executed by the remaining members of the platoon. It was Karath as understood a tactic first instituted by Darth Revan. Only the troops she had executed with such tactics were Dark Jedi. It was a sound practice; the fear of failing to carry out orders was more potent than facing any enemy.

Service and obedience to the Sith Lord was awarded, disobedience was swiftly and equally award by death. Karath felt his heart hammer loudly behind his chest. Fear swam through him like a virulent disease. "Of—of course not my Lord. I will do as you command. But it will take several hours to reposition the fleet around the planet."

Malak's eyes narrowed darkly. "Then I suggest you begin immediately. You are dismissed Admiral."

Saul bowed low. "Yes Lord Malak."

KOTOR-KOTOR-KOTOR-KOTOR-KOTOR-KOTOR-

Davik Kang dressed immaculately in the finest silks of Alderaan, bore the expression of a man very accustomed luxury and lavish extravagance. He welcomed his leashed bounty hunter in the main audience chamber with a sardonic tone to his voice. "So Canderous, I see you've brought someone with you. Most interesting, if I do say so myself. Usually you fight alone. But then again I can see why you'd wish her company: she is quite the astounding beauty, even for a Nagai and so is the doleful human at her tail."

"It's not like you to take partners Canderius. You're getting soft." Calo Nord baited Ordo with a smug twist to his thin lips. Behind his goggles that covered most of his upper face he continued to stare at the Nagai.

Canderous took a menacing step forward, his teeth gnashed together in a snarl as he growled. "Watch yourself, Calo. You may be the newest kath hound in the pack, but you're not top dog yet!"

"Enough!" Davik barked. "I won't have my top men killing each other. This is not good business." An oozing misogynistic smile crossed the older human's lips. "I'm sure Canderous has an _explanation_ as to why he's not willing to go solo anymore."

"This is a special case, Davik. I'm sure the Exchange will want to recruit this one. This is Skye Ravensong, you may have already heard of her exploits, one I know you saw."

"Aw yes, now I recognize you, they call you the Mysterious Stranger. Killed Starkiller in a spectacular show of finesse and determination. And you won the big swoop bike race. Very impressive as was your display in the rather heated battle afterwards."

"It was nothing I couldn't handle." Ravensong said shifted gears into a more potent assassin mode. Making sure she gave a more foreboding presence one that demanded respect and touch of fear as if they were facing a tusked panther tethered on a very thin, very short leash made of rotten leather. It worked. Davik and Nord and even Canderous took an involuntary step back. Bastila was especially interested by what just happened. Whether Ravensong knew it or not she had tapped into the Force and used it to project the image.

"And this is your trophy? That Republic woman…" the tone of Kang's' voice was a tad more respectful than it had previously been.

"Yes and no." Ravensong stood near the Jedi her back slightly towards Kang as she whispered so softly the Jedi had to strain her ears to hear it. "Sorry, this isn't going to be big on dignity." Her hand slid sensually along Bastlia's cheek and her breasts as if she were stroking an animal at a fair, before planting an even more sensual kiss upon the human's shocked lips.

The thing about most sentient males was they grew quite incited and aroused when they saw two women sexually interacting with one another. The kiss heatedly and passionately lingered a bit longer before Ravensong abruptly ended it. Her words were intoned with the notes of dominance and possessiveness. "_My_ trophy, _my_ woman but she's not Republic anymore than you are Kang." Ravensong crossed her arms over her chest. "Some minor noble got in debt with the Vulkers usurers with bets in the arena. Story is he paid them off by selling his daughter to them. The noble bastard lost a possible heir but I gained a delicious pleasure slave."

Behind her Bastila still flushed from the kiss managed to gain her wits about her stretched out with the Force instituting the idea into the criminal boss's mind that was indeed what she was and no more than that. "My new mistress has been very gracious to me." Bastila said using a thick Tarissian accent.

"Your new mistress is very gracious to you." Davik repeated the words implanted in his subconscious by the Jedi's mind trick. "Had you been my trophy, you'd have a restraint collar on that pretty little neck of yours as soon as I had you."

"I have my own methods of slave braking, Kang. It's efficient, it works and I don't need help. Thanks anyway. Now you know my abilities, what do you say?"

"A lot of spirit in you, Nagia and a clever tongue. I like that in my minions as long as they remember their place." The tethered tusked panther flashed in his mind. To have such a dangerous creature in his hold as with Ordo and Nord would become a powerful weapon. He had to have her. Her, Ordo and Nord at his beck and call, he could easily gain far more status within the Exchange. "With a recommendation from Canderous, and through vetting you might just make an excellent member of the Exchange. You'll stay here as my guest while I do a back ground check. If everything checks out you're in, but I warn you now if there is something I don't like I'll have you killed." He couldn't allow his tusked panther to feel she was unleashed. He brought Ordo and Nord, his kath hounds under the collar; he'd bend the panther to his will as well.

"Now how can I refuse such a delightfully intriguing offer like that, Davik?" Skye unfolded her arms and unleashed her most charmingly cocky grin.

Kang threw back his head and laughed. "Good. You can keep your pet, but if you want to sample my stables, I have a nice selection of my own pleasure slaves. They are at your disposal they might even give that one of yours a few pointers to better please you. Trust me my girls are very talented." He leered.

"I'll take that under advisement." Skye said. She turned to Bastila, "sometimes her performance _is _a little lackluster. Some extra training might do _me_ some good."

Again Kang laughed and it was echoed by Canderous even Cord had a smirk on his face. Bastila stifled the urge rally against the slight, she had a role to play and she would not slip and allow her baser emotions of incensed rebellion to control her reaction.

"I will make the effort to please you, my mistress." she whispered in the most humble voice she could manage attempting sound subservient. "You liberated me from the Vuklers, I owe you much."

Skye's eyes warned the Jedi she was playing it a little too thickly. Kang and Nord both scrutinized the woman one with deep suspicions the other with distain.

"Come with me, I'll give you the five credit tour." Davik said leading the way out of the audience chamber.

They were shown the trophy room, which housed many mounted heads from a rancor monster, to a wampa, a krayt dragon, and a dewback amongst many others. And there were several sentient beings including a Gunggun from Naboo. Ravensong couldn't fathom why anyone would boast about killing one those gangly clumsy buffoons. She understood thoroughly why you'd want to shoot one, as a race they were annoying in the extreme, far much more so than any Jawa could ever be. Still to put one their heads on a wall seemed so petty, it'd be like mounting a wamprat and declaring it was a fearsome and terrible battle.

Though Nord took the credit for kills, Skye knew they had been corralled and downed by less than honest means. But she wasn't going to argue after all she brought down Fido with synthesized scent glands and a pack full of frag-grenades. Why quibble over favorable results?

The penultimate stop on the tour was the hanger. "And there she is the Ebon Hawk, my pride and joy." Davik sounded as if he were talking about his first born son. "She's the fasted ship in the Outer Rim. State of the art security system I installed to protect her, the shields are completely impenetrable. Nobody can get past them without the codes to try and steal my baby. Unfortunately the Sith blockade had grounded my vessel. The Ebon Hawk can outrun any vessel in the galaxy, but even she isn't fast enough to avoid the autotargeting laser cannons of the orbiting Sith fleet.

"I'm working on acquiring the Sith departure codes so that I can come and go as I please. However progress has been slow." he gave a meaningful contemptuous look to Canderous. "But we should continue our tour."

Ravensong and Bastila both exchanged a look, as they followed the crime boss out the hanger, the scout leaned into the Jedi and whispered. "Wasn't it a bit strange he just blurted all that out about his security systems and getting the Sith access codes?"

"Maybe he was inspired." Bastila whispered back.

"You didn't?" Skye grinned.

The Jedi shrugged but gave no other answer.

Kang ended the tour in front of a set of rooms. "These will be your accommodations. The slave quarters are down the hall if you need anything during your stay, food, drink, a _massage_, you want your girl to pick up a few tricks. You can feel free to call upon their services." He leered once more, thinking about naked women licking, kissing and writhing together. With a cough he continued. "If all goes well with your vetting you'll be invited to join the Exchange. I'd advice you accept the offer when it comes or suffer dire consequences of refusal." His voice intoned exactly what those consequences were. Join or die, background check passes or you die. Not a lot of options.

"I'm looking forward to working with you Davik or rather I should say the Exchange." Ravensong said not shaken by the threats and making sure Davik knew it.

The crime boss gritted her teeth, resenting he had not intimidated her as much as she had him half an hour before. Putting steal and coldness in his voice, Kang snapped out the orders as crisply as he could muster. "You will stay in these rooms as my guest for the next few days. I will not accept no for an answer. I must warn you that if you are found anywhere outside the guest wing during your stay or if you bother my other guests my security forces will deal with you most harshly."

"Yes so you said gratuitously before." Skye said unfazed by the bullying tactics. "I got it the first time you gave the threat. And frankly, it's beginning to bore me. You wouldn't be entertaining the notion of my recruitment into the Exchange if you thought I was that thick. You'll find I'm not easily cowed so why not stop with all the inane chest pounding, paranoia and promising threats. Leave them behind for someone who might be more impressed and intimidated. I came here for opportunities within the _Exchange_ not to play games or engage in pissing contests. If that is all you are, Kang then I'm leaving _now_! I know exactly what I'm getting into; I wouldn't have agreed to come here with Canderous if I wasn't. Now are we serious or are you going to frack around some more?"

"Very well." Davik gave a tiny bow of his head. "You are correct; you are not the archetypical merc that normally gains the attention of one of my men, wishing to sign up with the Exchange. Those men are good for security detail and not much else. I have become more accustomed to dealing with their ilk. The woman who slew Starkiller…obviously is very comfortable with the treat of death. "

The woman seemed to have the same haughtiness as the Mandalorian and Carlo Nord had, but then Blades were always that way. Blades were hardly impressed with death threats considering their monks of that witch-goddess of theirs were all assassins. Death was just a form of worship to a Blade; Kang had practically forgotten that bit. He knew he had just lost a great deal of her respect with his standard spiels, of that he was certain. Trying to cower her had the exact same effect as it had on Canderous and Nord which is to say completely negative. She was also the type of woman that rarely crossed his path, most he easily subdued and made subservient as with his slaves.

Ravensong admitted an interest in the Exchange, not working for Kang himself. He knew she was using him to get her foot in the door to the rest of the Exchange and from there make her own way in the organization. Had it not been for the Sith blockade she'd be on her way talking to another boss and offering her services to him, Kang had to make certain that didn't happen. A Blade loyal because of a blood-oath was better than even a Mandalorian merc, they never turned. In this day and age such a thing was a valuable asset. The only thing more sure than a Nagai's blood oath was a Wookie's life-debt. Trick a Blade into a blood oath and she will find a loophole in the wording as not to become an oathbreaker. She'd rail against the spirit of the oath for the letter of the oath, where as a Wookie will serve the life-debt irregardless because his honor demands it. He may be ordered to do things he might consider unspeakable and unforgivable because you demanded it and he is honor bound to serve you until the ending of his days.

"I will return after the investigation of your background is completed. Until then make yourself comfortable, Ravensong. The entire guest wing is at your disposal." Kang said in a less confrontational tone, then turned and left the companions.

"Way to make an impression there, Whelp." Canderous barked out a throaty laugh. "I don't think Kang had been spoken to like since he first hired me. Of course he only tried that shit once with me. Told the day he rides a basilisk war droid into the atmosphere of a planet is the day I take his threat serious."

"You road a basilisk into atmo?" Skye asked astonished.

"I'll tell you the whole story some other time, kid. Right now all we have to do is figure out a way to get past the Hawk's security system, and we can get the rest of your group and get off this planet. The sooner the better, no since waiting around here, though."

"You wouldn't happen to have the codes to the systems?" Bastila queried.

The merc shook his head, "I don't know where they are, but there are techs who might know: the security chief, if we can get to him."

"I suppose Holden isn't conveniently on the property. Surely the Ebon Hawk's pilot possesses the codes." Skye said.

"Yeah he does but he's still held up at Javannar's. He aint the only pilot the Hawk has. I know the other one's here, Kang had him thrown in the brig."

"Considering what Holden is like, I'd hate to think what this man did to warrant being tossed in the clink." Skye muttered. "Then again given Kang all he probably did was step in an out-of-bounds area."

"Something like that" Canderous answered, "To get to him we still need to get into Security. Look, I need to get kitted up before we start looking for trouble. It won't take me long. You can take a look around see if you can dig anything up, the boys might be more willing to talk to the Mysterious Stranger. The slaves may know a few things as well; drunken flyboys and higherlings tend to have loose tongue especially after they had a tumble. I'd start there. You're a little more subtle when it calls for it than I am."

"That's less confrontational than I expected out of you, Mandalorian." Bastila challenged.

"I'm Mandalorian so that means I have too blast everything first?"

"Your people do have a reputation." she said haughtily

"So do yours. I heard a rumor that the Vulkers' captured you without much of a struggle. It must be embarrassing to be bested by a handful of street thugs."

She was already in a foul mood. Being fondled by the impetuous rouge even if it was all apart of the role she was supposed to be caring out was just the start of it. Being forced to play the part of a pleasure slave…it was humiliating! Now a thug was taunting her? Had these people no respect for the Jedi? "There were extenuating circumstances and I assure you it took far more than a handful of Vulkers to subdue me!"

Chidingly Skye added. "Yeah, I'm sure there were twenty of them. I mean fifty…no…wait a hundred!" she giggled adding salt to the mockery.

Ordo snickered causing Bastila's face to scrunch up into a bitter grimace. "Whatever you say. All I know is that if we had more Jedi like Bastila fighting against us in the Mandalorian wars, my side might not have lost."

"Bold talk from a broken down mercenary who was serving at Davik's heel. I'd call you his pet kath hound like the others, but hounds have enough loyalty not to turn on their masters."

"Insults? Maybe your masters had trained your lightsaber to be as quick as your tongue you could have escaped those Vulkers, you spoiled Jedi Princess."

Bastila shot a scathing look at Skye show shook her head and shrugged, seemingly stating that she had not told the merc her pet name for the Jedi.

"I was not spoiled, despite what you both think! I was given the same training as everyone else in the Order! You are nothing but a…." she took in a heavy calming sigh. "No I must not do this. There is no emotion, there is only peace."

"That's the problem with you Jedi." Ordo sneered. "Always chanting about peace and control, never up for a good fight. Well except Reven, I guess." He gave a sidelong look to Ravensong—thinking.

Bastila didn't miss the look he gave the scout, "Enough Mandalorian. I won't rise to your taunts. This game is over."

"You know the Revanchist they were nothing like you. They were a true Jedi, the ones stories talk about. And Revan held Manndalorians' respect. And there was another…not Malak but another general. A woman-a half-breed Blade, there were more than a few Mandalorians wanting to prove themselves as warriors by facing her. Malak might have been Revan's right hand kath hound but she relied on this general far more. That half-breed had this ability in battle, I never seen anything like it before. It was like she could directly control the flow of battle."

Bastila frowned. She knew only little of Meetra Surik. Surik was said to be a mediocre Jedi at best but Bastila knew this was falseness. Surik was what was called a muscle mimic. The Force had given her the ability to mimic without fault any physical action she saw. Though she hid it for she did not wish to be singled out as Bastila had been. Nor did she have a desire to be used by the Council as Bastila was. There was a part of young Shan that understood Surik's reasoning, why she rather have be seen as a middling Knight rather than have the full attention of the Council.

Revan had held her in great regard, not only because of her skill, but they had become good friends during their initial training as younglings on Corrisant. Of course that was before Meetra became apprenticed to Master Kavar and he transferred to Dantooine. Why Master Kavar helped his Padawan conceal her gifts, Shan did not know. Even Master Vima Sunrider who because the Exile's master after Kavar left to earlier fight in the Mandalorian wars hid her talents. But there had to be a reason. Another skill the half-blooded Nagai held and this widely known was that Meetra made Force Bonds with others easily and readily. Anyone she connected to on a personal level slowly seeped into a Force Bond with the Jedi.

There was one more thing, another secrete…and this Kavar and Sunrider didn't even know.

Bastila knew that the Mistress of the Archives on Corrisant had been Meetra's secrete forbidden lover. This Bastila knew only because of Reven…had whispered it to her when she questioned their relationship.

'_You should not worry so, Love; if we are breaking the Code merely by expressing what we hold, it would be hypocrisy should say a certain Master speak of it."_

'_What do you mean…?'_

'_Master Atris and Knight Meetra Surik share a bond. And I'm not talking about the Force Bonds Surik easily creates. So you see even in the Code there is room for interoperation. Selfless love is essential for a Jedi. Bastila the love we share is selfless, so there is no lie, only valid truth. We are in each other's souls, Bastila. Fear is of the Dark Side, so do not fear to love as we are meant to be together. Obviously Master Atris and Knight Meetra have done so why should we not? '_

'_But to keep such secretes…it is a betrayal, isn't it?'_

'_Three masters keep Surik's secretes, two her abilities the last her love, we are doing nothing they have not set the precedence for.'_

When Revan went to war, Bastila had been devastated just as Master Atris had been when Meetra follow her. Not long after the departure of the rogue Jedi, the archives mistress had closed herself off from others, devoting more and more of her time to the ancient holocrons within the archive vaults.

When Surik returned after the war, she was said to have had a trial. Rumors said the Council had cut the Meetra off from the Force, confiscated her lightsaber and exiled her. She disappeared in the Outrim territories. The Jedi do not execute their guilty though it probably better had Meetra died on Malacor Five. To Bastila it was better to be dead than to have the Force ripped away from you. Death would be a comparable kindness to such a fate.

Skye's own reaction to the name Surik stirred up far different memories. The name Surik was one of great renown and respect amongst the Nagai people. The Suriks had a long, long legacy of being one of the great families of the Nagai. Phantom shadows the Suriks assassins were, swift and deadly and utterly devoted to the Night Mother. So much so that any Surik that was Force sensitive was kept from the Jedi Order and given to the Monastery to be raised as a disciple to the goddess.

Meetra being a half-blood was therefore ineligible to be dedicated to the Night Mother as a full sister. Still the blood of her ancestors ran strongly through her, the testament of her gifts was clearly evident. Was it any wonder that a pureblood Nagai Jedi Knight like Revan saw the potential in her kith and desired Surik to be at her side? A muscle mimic who not only had what sounded like battle meditation but possessed the ability to forge Force Bonds was an incredible asset to hold.

How much of Revan's successes have been due to her abilities to lead and strategize and now much was it due to Surik's battle meditation? If it was the latter, was it any wonder that Malak wanted another like the rouge Jedi general at his command? He had seen first hand what Surik as capable of, of course he desired Bastila. Suddenly it became all the more clearer why the Jedi woman was so very valuable to both sides and why she was so actively pursued.

They had to get off Taris. Bastila had to be returned to the Jedi Order. Should Shan fall to the Dark, the Republic may well never recover; it would mean the rise of the Sith Empire.

"Well this had been fun but there's work to do." Skye piped up. "Like you said Old Hound, the sooner we're off Taris the better."

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Talking Ordo's advice Skye and Bastila headed for the slave quarters.

The room contained four beds, three whirlpools and two tables heavily laden with delicacies, fruits and pastries as well as meats. In the far end of the room near the whirlpools was a door that might have lead to a walk-in closet or maybe an ensuite.

"Welcome to Master Kang's estate fair mistress." a young Twi'lek bowed low at the waist. "I mean no disrespect fair mistress, but perhaps one of the male slaves could better serve your needs." The Twi'lek nervously said looking to her counterpart for support should this newest addition to Davik's band of mercenaries prove volatile.

"Of that I doubt." Skye answered dryly. "There is nothing of interest in the male quarters."

The two Twi'leks shared concerned expressions. Their lukuus curling slightly around their throats conveying their mutual uncertainty of having to service a lady guest of their master. Davik probably didn't even know the woman was a sly.

Skye knew well the silent sign language of the Twi'lek race and felt she had to put these two at ease. "I'm sure Davik would be far more than pleased to know how well treated we all were."

This brightened both slave girls. "Praise from a guest is a highly coveted commodity." Ald'rehuna said losing some of her nervousness. Though she didn't know how to service

a sly in the manner they were accustomed, she knew her own body well enough to make the attempt. This fair lady no doubt had no lack of lovers; perhaps even the dark haired human with her was to be a body slave. Perhaps the fair mistress expected her own slave to become instructed in the arts of pleasuring a master.

"Do we really have time for this?" The human said, her voice laced with poisonous scorn or perhaps it was merely jealously that caused her voice to become so bitter.

"Davik said his servants were talented in the skills of massage. After the few days I've had I could use one. Tussling with a rancour, rakghouls, grammarian thugs and swoop jocks not to mention leaping off an exploding swoop bike and being slammed repeatedly into a durasteel wall by a crazed Mandalorian and Sith governor as well as dodging lethal volleys of grenades, nearly gutted by a vibroblade and blaster shots leaves a body a bit banged up, Princess. Jumping off that bike dislocated my shoulder and I had to ram it back into place only to have it dislocated again by Starkiller. I can do with a bit of a massage. I don't have full range of my left shoulder to tell you the truth and if Ald'rehuna can do something about it then yes we are going to make time. Go over there at the table, eat a bit of fruit and keep your teeth together if you don't have anything constructive to say." Skye said vehemently. She had about had it with the Jedi Princess's haughty arrogance.

While they were playing master and slave-girl she was going to take advantage of the opportunity to shut the stolid woman up if only for a moment. The Night Mother knew when an opportunity would present itself again. No doubt once they were free and clear of Davik and Taris, Skye would surely get an earful about the proper way to respect one's superior officer and a Jedi. Right now however, she had the upper hand on Bastila.

Bastila was more than shocked to hear about the list of injuries this woman sustained in her several days trying to find her as well as those compounded after the Jedi's rescue. The Jedi was impressed and admired Skye for all she had suffered. Strange Carth didn't seem to have as many injuries as Skye. Ravensong never said a word of complaint over all she had suffered. Carth said she had been pretty banged up by the crash, suffering a near lethal concussion as well as several blaster burns and lacerations. It was about three days before she was even coherent let alone mobile. Mission had said Skye was the bravest person she knew for taking on a rancour monster by herself. When they traversed down into the sewers it had been Skye who had distracted the Grammarians so that Mission and the Wookie could escape. Of course Skye had lead the pigs right into a nest of rakghouls with the intent they take out each other, but she got caught up in the crossfire had had to fight both sides.

Ald'rehuna gave another glance to her sister with an expression of reprieve. The Twi'lek had nothing against slys but she couldn't help but feel a bit of relief in the obvious naiveté in the warrior before her. Ravensong had not understood the connotation of what 'massage' meant and expected something in the lines of physical therapy.

Skye turned her attention back to the slave-girl. "If I strip down to the waist, in my experience most males have a reaction that isn't befitting of a…massage therapist, if you take my meaning. And I could do with a full body massage, so you can understand why I have no desire to go to the males."

"Of course fair mistress. Forgive me for assuming I could not service you as you needed."

"No problem." Pointed with her chin Ravensong gestured towards beds. "Aren't they a bit low for proper therapeutic massages?"

Ald'rehuna wasn't sure if the fair mistress was this naïve or she was deliberately being obtuse for their sake. "The beds tend to be more comfortable for the guests." The Twi'lek offered on this preconception that this beautiful woman truly didn't understand that massage was an illusion for sex. "Partitions rise between the beds for privacy." She tapped a button near the headboard of the furthest bed from the door. She then went to a small end table on the lee side of the bed collecting a few crystalline bottles. By the time she turned back to Mistress Ravensong, the fair woman was stripped of all clothing save for her undergarments. Ravensong removed her sports bra and lay belly down on the bed.

The Nagai's back was defined in streamline muscles of a gymnast. In fact her whole body was refined as any Nightblade trained in the Nagai monasteries. One of the first things Ald'rehuna noticed were the brilliant tattoos that nearly covered the whole of the warrior's back. One was an ice dragon the other a great saber toothed panther. Under the tattoos were obvious scars and slightly puckered flesh that marked the healing from ion fire. Even with the scars that blemished the flesh, Ravensong was beautiful.

"Is there anything you are allergic topically to that I should know about before I apply the oils?"

Ravensong shook her head. "Not that I know of."

"Good. I have ointments that will sooth your bruises and abused muscles."

"Sounds good to me, thank you." Skye said in a rather muffled voice, as her head was resting on her folded arms.

Ald'rehuna at first was unsure of how to even begin the massage. The bruises some were days old, some fresh were expansive in purple, green-yellow splotches of color. There was sign of kolto patches on her body because those areas were mercifully free of contusions. "Are you injured on your lower extremities?

"No. Well…a few bruised and scrapes but not as bad as my back or shoulders."

"I will attend you with care." Ald'rehuna straddled the fair mistress's shapely arse, mindful of the bruises she saw marring the legs. Now that she was so close the Twi'lek recognized who this woman was. This was the Mysterious Stranger! Now the comment of crazed Mandalorian made since. The Mysterious Stranger had killed Bando Starkiller in a spectacular display of martial combat. Armed with only blades she had taken on the Mandalorian who was intent on painting the arena with the Nagai's innards. Ald'rehuna had seen the death-match when she had accompanied Davik in the arena. It was no wonder this fair warrior was covered in bruises. Not to mention the account of battles she had berated the human body-slave with. No wonder she longed for a massage.

Pouring oil in her cupped palm Ald'rehuna began to knead the knotted muscles, down the spine and back up once again. She couldn't help but truly admire the refined corded muscles under her fingers. At once Ravensong flinched. Ald'rehuna could see the muscles tightened at the merest touch.

'She must be in such pain. That was far more than a mere wince, yet the fair mistress didn't utter a sound.' Ald'rehuna spoke softly. "Please fair mistress, if you must tell me if I cause you discomfort."

"Deal." She muttered sleepily. "Only I'm experiencing difficulties in deciphering what is pain and what is pleasure. It's all mixed up." She snickered.

Ald'rehuna continued to work the knots out of each muscle. Applying more oils to sooth the bruises she felt the tension of the woman beneath her evaporate. The oil she was using was less for clients than it was for the Twi'lek slaves when Davik's guests became more physical than they aught to be. The ointments soothed deep bruises, tired and abused muscles and eased bone deep pains. Her 'client' didn't seem to mind the fact the oils wasn't exotic but rather appreciated its practicality and its restorative properties.

Ald'rehuna thought about the woman under her care. How could she be paradoxically so dominant, confident, captivating and yet so vulnerability innocent all at the same time?

"Whatever you're using is wonderful. What is it?"

The Twi'leks exchanged a look of near panic—what if the fair mistress grew incensed at the idea of being treated with slave-oils? "It…it is for more athletic applications-for us after we see to the 'needs' of our master's guests." she admitted in a subdued worried tone.

"Well it's wonderful." Skye complemented. "If you could give me the formula I'd appreciated it. By the Night Mother you could make a fortune if you marketed this to the military, Jedi training academies or sporting arenas or all the above."

"That's worth a thought," Ald'rehuna whispered.

"If properly done, say covertly one might be able to make enough credits to buy one's freedom." Bastila said echoing Ravensong's train of thought.

It never occurred to the slave-girls that their oils were profitable. So profitable that freedom could be had. But it was such a strange concept for a bid at freedom coming from a person owning a slave and said slave spoke of freedom as if she had never lost it. Of course if the slave wasn't a slave and only pretended to play the role that would explain quite a lot. Normally the slaves were used to actively get information out of the loose-lipped libidinous and drunken guests typically after being used for sex, but neither Twi'lek wanted to betray this woman.

"If…if I might ask, how did you become so injured?"

"I imagine you're not meaning the resent bruises?"

"Please don't take offence." Ald'rehuna said nervously terrified she had overstepped the line.

"No I didn't, don't worry about it. It's a long story…"

At this point Bastila perked up, leaned forward on her elbows that rested upon knees listening intently. She had seen the scares on her companion's back when Skye had stripped down. She had no idea the past two weeks had been such a toll on the young woman, relevantly speaking Bastila had suffered minor wounds. But then she hadn't tangled with spiced-up gangers, rakghouls, Grammarian slavers, rancour monsters or exploding swoop bikes.

"About a year and a half ago I was in my shuttle tearing through the Kessle Run on assignment when I was shot down by Sith raiders. I managed to keep control over my craft long enough to find a planet and enter the atmosphere without burning up. But most of my instruments weren't responding and I wasn't able to pull out. All I could do was to control the crash. I plunged into the forests; the wings of my craft were shorn off by the great trees. They weren't the massive trees on Kashyyyk but big enough do tear my ship apart. Anyway the shuttle hurtled to the earth in a bone jarring, teeth shattering dead stop. I would have died if not for my beautiful angelic rescuer."

Bastila drew in a breath. "Angelic rescuer?"

"Yes." Skye's voice dripped in a pleasured reverent memory. "She was so beautiful. Her face porcelain pale, her eyes held the greyness of a storm-riddled sky. A voice so pleasurable to the ears one would weep to hear it: so refined, so eloquent." Skye chuckled. "It's almost like yours Bastalia if it wasn't so sharp and critical."

"I am neither sharp nor critical." The Jedi snapped.

"You're right not sharp one bit." She giggled causing the slave-girls to laugh as well. Skye winked. "Chill your retro thrusters Princess, I was only teasing you. Anyway….she saved me. She pulled me from the wreckage of burning metals to give me life. I was barely breathing, hanging onto life with a whisper of desperation. I felt her mind mingle with mine, her heart meld with mine until she commanded her own heart to beat for both of us. Her lungs breathed life into mine. She pushed back the fell and fierce dark of death and gave me life. I think she swore an oath as a Jedi Knight I would not die that day but live to face the future come-what-may. Death quailed to hear the dread oath of a valiant Jedi bent on saving a life and Death held back its hold. I would not meet the Void of the Night Mother's embrace that day. She would ever be my angel."

"That is so romantic!" Ald'rehuna declared

Bastila lost all color in face, her voice a shaky whisper. "Do…do you remember her?"

Skye shook her head sadly. "Alas no. Not clearly. I suffered a concussion and my sight was blurred but her soul that I know well. Her soul is purity, her face beautiful, her heart generous and noble. She is very image of grace."

"What…what happened next?" Ald'rehuna asked her voice wistful.

"I don't recall. I remember waking in a Republic hospital or medical center. She must have carried me there. There was a novice Jedi healer there. She restored my broken body. They didn't have a kolto tank but I was given kolto injections from a dozen different medical kits. The healer was apologetic that I would always bare the scares of that day. I remember telling the healer that I didn't mind the scares so much because upon looking upon them I would always remember my angelic saviour. Being slightly prideful I got a few tattoos to cover up them up. Not because of shame but the memoirs are mine to keep and I would not have others look upon their nakedness out of context. Let others think of battle and war when they see them but I will remember my beloved saviour because they are marks of a second chance." Skye smiled dreamily. "I love her. I think I always have."

"You…you love her?" Bastila asked incredulously.

"Does that sound so unbelievable, Princess that a Nagai scout can find love? I might be brash, outspoken and foul-mouthed, but I know love! She will always have mine." Skye's eyes became fierce. "I have been in love before, and most likely be again but she will always carry a part of my heart."

"Oh that is such a wonderful tale." Avid'ar cooed softly. Until now the younger of the Twi'lek slave-girls hadn't said much as she had little to say but the story of heroic rescues and unrequited love had moved her. And she found she could not stay her tongue from voicing her thoughts. "How beautiful and how tragic."

"Excuse me…"Bastlia nearly leapt up from her seat. "I…I...need a moment…"

Avid'ar pointed to the ensuite located in the corner of the room. "Right through there."

The Jedi shook her head, "I think I will return to our quarters." She said too quickly.

Skye tapped Ald'rehuna leg indicated to the Twi'lek should dismount off her backside so she might rise from the bed. "Hang on, let me get dressed and I'll join you."

Bastila found her throat tight and unable or rather unwilling to allow a sound to escape; she was left with only the ability to nod.

"Did you ever met with your angel again?" asked Avid'ar still enthralled by the tale.

"Sadly no. I asked after her, but the healer said she had to leave. I asked for her name but I was told it wasn't given to them to tell me." Skye said shirking on her tunic. Smiling as she now had full range in her battered shoulder.

"What…what would you do if you ever encountered her again?" Bastila asked softly.

"I'd thank her for my life. I would tell her that she resides in my heart. I would tell her I know she is Jedi and can not return my affections even if she had sly tendencies. I would tell her I know she couldn't enter into a personal relationship and I don't expect one. I would acknowledge the love she shown that day she saved my life was born out of the platonic love Jedi hold in their hearts for life around them. But she would know of my gratitude. And I have tried to pass on her generosity, her care for others. That was a great lesson she taught me that day. I would tell her this is how I can express my love for her by paying it forward." Now fully dressed, Skye approached the gobsmacked Jedi. "Come on Princess lets go see what Canderous is up to. Thank you, ladies for a pleasurable time."

Ald'rehuna rushed up to Skye handing her a vile of the oil. "A gift, fair mistress." She said bashfully. "And...and…if I may. It is clear you've never owned a slave and she is no slave. Davik might have not notice right away but he will. Please Mistress Bastila if you play the part of a body-slave you must be humble…"

Skye chuckled. "Then we have the luck of a shaved Wookie."

Bastila frowned.

"Keep your head down when in the presences of others, stay two paces behind your '_mistress_'. Forgive me, but you carry yourself with great pride and it will give you away."

"A newly forced slave will have pride if she's not broken." Skye said softly. "As you know from Davik, Bastila was the prize at the swoop race, so she's going to be contemptible."

"This is true. But you, fair mistress, do not speak to her as you did to us as equals when that is…not so."

"I've played a lot of parts as a scout, being a slave master wasn't one of them. Thank you for the hints. Being deliberately cruel to someone isn't something I'm comfortable with. Besides other than Hutts, I don't find any sentient beneath me not even the Tof-long enemy of the Nagai. However, I will take your advice and apply it. I'm pretty adept at role-playing." She leaned in to the Twi'lek's ear whispering. "Oh and I knew exactly what 'massage' meant. You were at ease when you thought I didn't. If I'm to take comfort in the pleasurable company of a woman, Miss Ald'rehuna, she must be first willing not ordered to do so. And secondly she has to be at least inclined to the sly ways." Pulling away the Nagia winked.

Ald'rehuna giggled. "Thank you for that." Her lukuus fell almost limply at the sides of her neck "I wasn't sure you did know that we are…used for…"

Skye took the woman's hand. "I have no intention of taking advantage of you or your sister or anyone like that. And you're body is your own Miss Ald'rehuna. In two hours be at the hanger where the Ebon Hawk is docked. No questions asked for none will be answered. Be there if you want to be free. Do not fear reprisal from the old man or Nord, there won't be any." Still holding the other woman's hand, Skye poured on the charm, portraying a dashing rouge they no doubt imagined her to be from her story. "The others…not guests but Kang's own men talk to you, perhaps just I had just done."

Ald'rehuna nodded. To her surprise she found herself craving the touch of this enigmatic woman. "Many times yes. What do you wish to know _my_ fair mistress?"

Skye caught the emphases on the word my and allowed a softer sympatric smile to spread across her lips. "I believe you know the sort of person I need to talk to, say someone who can aid in the liberation of a metal bird." she let go of the hand she held and took a small step back.

The Twi'lek's lukuus curled about her shoulders, revealing her excitement. "Hudrow, he was the Hawk's primary pilot. You need to get to him."

Avid'ar spoke up. "He greatly angered Master Kang. He's in the special guest quarters."

"Special quest quarters?" Bastila pressed. "I was lead to believe he might have been placed in the brig."

Both slaves shook their heads, nervous lukuus curled protectively around necks. "That place is…terrible. Master Kang likes to call it special guest quarters because…because he likes play with the words, toy with the poor people he puts in there."

Ald'rehuna. "The only reason you are sent there is…is to be tortured."

Bastila and Skye exchanged a look of great concern, "How long as he been in there?" the scout asked.

"Nearly a week, just after the Sith blockade."

"He may not be alive." Bastila said clinically, trying not to allow her disgust show on her face. "We will have to find an alternative method to accomplish our goal."

Ald'rehuna shook her head, "No, I think he still lives. Master Kang likes to….prolong things." Both her voice and body trembled for the memory of her own very personal encounters with her masters' perverse pleasures he took in his torments others.

"Tell me how to reach him." Skye said dropping a bit of sternness into her voice, "And I will make sure you and your sister are free."

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"The special guest room?" Canderous puffed out a breath of hot air. They had met up with the man shortly after leaving the slave quarters. "Even if he is still alive, his mind will be addled by what Davik's torture droids. If you mean to rescue him then we better double time it."

They sprinted down the corridor of the of the guest wing through the audience chamber. Here they paused for the next door would lead to open conflict with the security detail. Canderous now decked out in blue and silver Mandalorian armour, over his shoulder was a virtual cannon, he drew it over his head and held it firmly at his hip. The distinctive snap-hiss of a light saber and the slick-slack of metal being drawn revealed the women were equally ready for the assault.

Skye pressed her back against the wall; Bastila flanked the other side near the access panel for the door. As soon as soon as the Jedi opened the door, Canderous fired his cannon directly into a Rodian's chest. What was left of him splattered his compatriots and the walls with green-black viscera.

The reaction was immediate. Sith troopers hesitated because one of their 'own' turned on them. Kang's men already trigger happy let loose a barrage of blasterfire without a second thought. Sweeping the room the Companions pushed forward under a barrage if gunfire. The fight would have been over right then if it wasn't for their body armour and energy shields.

Energy bolts ricochet wildly through the comm-room as Jedi and scout moved in. The hum of the lightsaber swirling sent the bolts directly back to those who fired them. It came as a great shock to two of the thugs when bolts flung back into their sculls. Skye sprinted forward; hit the deck into a forward shoulder roll. Honor blade in the left hand, sword in the right. She slammed the smaller blade into the boot of merc pinning him to the floor, his body reflexively lurched forward and with an upward sweep of the long sword she took off his head. It was done before the man finished his scream.

Bastila cut through the onslaught like a light dissolving shadows. The arch of one blade was immediately followed by its opposite twin, severing one man in twine and the other lost an arm. Three of the enemy combatants dropped to the floor.

With the same precision formation the companions ventured into the next chamber that according to Canderous should be the 'Special Guest quarters.' They were fired upon almost instantly, not by any sentient but by mounted security droids.

Again the team split, Jedi and Mandalorian taking on the droids, one reflecting shots back, the other blasting through the defensive shields and pulverizing the chaises with repeated fired. Skye sprinted to the control panel, sliced into it attempting to shut down room's defences and the hovering containment cell.

Quick fingers made short work of the interface and shut down the force cage, a shower of sparks over the scout's shoulder indicated much the same had been down with the droids. A quick flick of the wrist Bastila had sent her lightsaber into the hull of the droid; it whirled with a whine, stuck and boomeranged back to her. She caught with a deft hand…and a smirk.

Hudrow fell to his hands and knees coughing and moaning as the aftershocks of his torture rippled though his body. Bastila moved towards him swiftly. Her compassion for the tormented man guiding her actions, stretching out with the Force she felt it course through her body and out her fingertips. The pilot's body shimmered in a pale blue; using the Force, Bastila was able to actually physically heal the trauma the prolonged electrocution had caused.

"Thank you! Thank you!" the man wept. "Thank you Master Jedi."

"I am Knight, not a Master yet. But you are most welcome." Shan said with far more cordiality Ravensong had ever heard her speak with.

"Whatever, just thank you. All of you. You have no idea what it was like in that cage. I have nothing to give you in award for what you did for me. Nothing tangible anyway, but I've got information that could be worth a fortune."

Skye's lips curled into a very piratical grin. "You were the Ebon Hawk's former pilot right?"

"Yeah exactly! How'd you know?" Looked to the scout and shook his head. "Doesn't matter. But yeah I was, until the kriffing Sith came. I had to drop my cargo before they boarded me. Davik didn't like it." he gestured to the cage behind him. "You get what his reaction was. The thing is, I've got the codes to unlock that damn ship. You can take it right out of that fracking hanger. Sell it, ransom it back to that sleemo—whatever you do you will make thousands."

"We'll take it. Now if I were you, I'd get out of here and as far away as possible." the Nagai said.

"You don't have to tell me twice." Hudrow answered back. He didn't give a second look as he darted from the chamber, presumably to speeder bay to take a car back the city proper.

"We got what we came for, we should get going. The hanger bay will need to be spliced open first though." Canderous said

"On it." Ravensong rushed back to the computer terminal she had used to free the pilot. Opening it back up, she downloaded the codes for the hanger's interior security systems causing the locking mechanisms to disengage. She then sliced directly in the camera controls. "Bunkers and Spice lab are full of thugs. Taking them out shouldn't be a problem." She smirked. "Let the fun begin."

Deft fingers worked over the interface: one overload here, another there…"Oh don't you just love the paranoid?"

"Whatever do you mean?" Bastlia demanded.

"Only that Kang went a little overboard on securing his little pleasure dome of idiocy. Kang the genius that he is installed toxic-gas systems in all the ventilation ducts. We can take out most of his men in one fell swoop." keying a few codes the ducts the barracks, and labs opened causing poising to filter through what should have been clean air.

The camera showed dozed of men clutching desperately at their throats chocking on the very air they breathed, dieing in their own vomit. The Nagai preferred her kills to be by the blade but there was something to be said about proficiency in the battlefield. Above all else Ravensong appreciated efficient and effective methods when dealing with the enemy.

"We should have a clear run to the hunger." Skye announced. "Let's not waste any more time.

Outside blasts rocked the estate.

The companions gave a look to each other and ampped their speed. No longer sprinting the three made a made dash through the halls towards the hanger. Whatever was attacking the property had a hell of a lot of a power, and relentlessness. But the spread of the bombing was too wide spread to be a direct assault. This had to be an orbital bombardment.

The one word that went through all three minds without ever being voices was: 'Shite'.

Just outside the hanger Skye spotted Ald'rehuna and Avid'ar. Both cowered before the door, with panicked expressions, too terrified to flee, to desperate to escape not to cling to Skye's promised hope of freedom. The scout singled they should stay down knowing the next few moments were going to be exceptionally instance.

Another blast shuddered the domicile causing plaster to fall from the ceiling.

"Damn those Sith! They're bombing the whole planet! I knew they'd turn on us sooner…." Davik stopped mid-sentence when the companions stormed in. "Well look what we have here! Thieves in the hanger. You figure you can just get away and leave me here while the Sith turn the planet into dust? Sorry, but that aint going to happen."

"Sure it is." Skye snapped back." her hand going for her blaster.

"I'll take care of them Davik, I've been looking forward to this for a long time!" Carlo Nord sneered looking at Canderous, then to Skye.

"Make it quick Carlo, the Sith mean business. If we don't get to our ships and find somewhere safe, the bombes their dropping will kill us all!"

"Does he not see us here?" Skye shot over her shoulder to the others and fired at the same time.

Davik spiralled around as his shoulder was hit hard; the Echani energy shields absorbed most of the blast. But it staggered him enough to send him whirling to the ground. The next few seconds of the battle were utter chaos. Skye's team pushed forwards, scrambling for cover. They had to fan out quickly before enemy crossfire could pin them down in a single location. The hanger echoed with the staccato recoil of assault rifles and the sharp _zip-zip-zip_ of bullets ricocheting off the metal walls.

Sprinting to a nearby support beam, Skye felt an all too familiar shudder as her energy shields repulsed several shots that would have otherwise found their mark. She hit the ground and rolled as a line of bullets stuck the floor just in front of her, disintegrating the cement and sending tiny showers of dust into her case.

She came to her feet spitting out the foul grit, instinctively checking the remaining power on her shields. She was down fifteen percent—not nearly enough to give her fighting chance if she had to make another run through direct enemy fire. The others no doubt were in the same situation. Still they were holding their own.

Nord was good, really good. He was also overconfident, relying too heavily in his grenades. He barely had enough time to throw before Canderous shot another volley at him making the tiny man fall back and run for cover.

Spitting out blood, Carlo coughed trying to regain his feet. "You may have me out numbered and outgunned but if I'm going down, I'm taking all of you with me! This is a thermal detonator will blow us all to bits!"

The Sith had the same idea.

"Damn the Sith! They're bringing down this how hanger down around us!" Davik cried out apparently temperately forgetting his second best man threatened to blow him up. Fear overrode fury he made a dash for the Ebon Hawk, but never made it. His inglorious end was met at by the weight of an I-beam falling upon his body crushing it.

That same I-beam had Carlo pinned, presumably buried and dead under all the rubble. Even with the dust and debris raining down it wasn't too difficult to make out there would be no more movement from the psychotic little man.

Canderous snatched Skye's arm, yanking her "Whelp, come on! Let's get this ship fired up, we'll pick of the rest of your friends then we have to move our asses of this planet"

"Right" The scout looked over her shoulder to see the two slaves huddling together near the door, fear planted roots in there feet. "You two into the ship, or die here. MOVE!"

"Hurry." Bastila added nudging them with the Force.

There were five rushing for the gangplank.

-KOTOR-KOTOR-KOTOR-KOTOR-KOTOR-KOTOR-

Far overhead Admiral Saul Karath walked with the gait of a man burdened by fear and the small part of him that still maintained a conscious. "Taris is defenceless against our assault, Lord Malak."

The dread Dark Lord overlooked the burring remnants of the mega city world, "Resume the bombardment commander. Wipe this pathetic planet form the face of the galaxy!"

Karath bowed, turned to the gunners and gave his master's orders.

-KOTOR-KOTOR-KOTOR-KOTOR-KOTOR-KOTOR-

Radioing a head telling the remaining companions to meet them in the plaza just outside the South End apartment complex was answered with an affirmative form Carth. When he was asked how much interference there was going to be with the panicked citizens of the Taris he had reported enough most that those that had not somehow secured offworld transports, the blockade be damned most were flooding the Lower city. Ironically enough from what Mission has said about the Beks most of the Lower City citizens were rushing to go into the Undercity. The place where they sent all unwanted people was now their sanctuary, rakghouls aside.

They had a window however small; it must be taken advantage of. It was regrettable they could not save more lives, but as soldiers they knew their mission was the only priority. Gods be damned it was hard, to turn your back on thousands of lives all screaming out to be saved.

-KOTOR-KOTOR-KOTOR-KOTOR-KOTOR-KOTOR-

Antifighter flack flashed on all sides. Even louder than the clatter of shrapnel and the snarl of the Hawk's sublight drives, the cockpit hummed and rang with the near hits from the turbolaser fire of the Sith ships crowding space around them.

From the cockpit Bastila, Skye and Carth watched and the Sith armada continuously bombarded the planet. Rays of energy blots showered down decimating the city into rubble.

"Here they come!" Bastila announced. "Get to the turrets; take out those fighters. You need to buy us time to plot a course to Dantooine."

"Aye, aye," Skye nodded and sprinted to turret bays. Canderous saw her passing through the comm-room and rushed after her taking the secondary bay.

Few sites are as overwhelming as a Centurion-class battlecruiser spewing scores of Sith interceptors. Small, light-weight and fragile, they were the physical manifestation of Sith philosophy. They were mass-produced and thrown at the enemy with little regard for the pilots, as long as they accomplish their gaol, the Sith lords care little for how many causalities the pilots of Sith intercepts sustained. With Sith pilots' willingness to throw away their lives made it likely that even sturdier Republic craft would suffer devastating losses during engagements. It was difficult to battle against those willing to martyr themselves for the cause of their masters.

The starfield wheeled around Skye as the interceptor raced toward her and then swung overheard to vanish into the distance. The scout fired at another fighter, and its pilot nearly slammed his engine through its mountings as he fought to avoid the powerful energy blots. As he did, his hurried manoeuvre brought him under and around to the other side of the Hawk directly into Canderous's cannons.

Carth was alternating his attention between the instruments and the tracking screens, while Bastlia strained to separate stars from near by assassins. Two fighters drove simultaneously on the twisting, spiralling freighters, trying to line their weapons on the unexpectedly flexible craft.

Another enemy bolt struck the fighter forward and was barely shunted aside by its deflectors. The cockpit shuddered violently, and gauges whined in protest at the quantity of energy they were being asked to monitor and compensate for. Another fighter unloosed an barrage on the Hawk, only this time the bolt pierced an overloaded screen and actually struck the side of the ship. Thought partially deflected, it still carried enough power to blow out a large control panel in the main passageway, sending a rain of sparks and smoke in all directions. Teethree-Deefour started stolidly toward the miniature inferno as the ship lurched crazily.

Then an interceptor floated down on the damaged frigate, right into Canderous's sights. His mouth moved into a grin, he fired at it. The incredibly agile little vessel darted out of his range but as it passed Skye picked it off instantly, and commenced a steady following fire. Without warming the fighter erupted in an incredible flash of multicoloured light, throwing a billion bits of superheated metal in all directions of the quadrant.

"We got two more of them out there." Bastila called out. "They're targeting the starboard deflector shields, it's down thirty percent. You need to buy use more time to initiate the hyperdrive."

Sith interceptors seemed to materlize out of nowhere, energy bolts reaching out from it them. Its companion crept came up o f the frigate's other side and Skye round herself firering steadily at it, ignoring the immensely powerful energy it threw at her. At the last possible instant before it passed out of range, she swung the weapons' nozzle minutely, her fingers tightening conversely on the fire control. The Sith interceptor turned into a rapidly expanding cloud of dust. The other fighter apparently considered the shrunken odds, turned and decided to ram the enemy at top speed.

Skye intuitively spun the turret gun ninety degrees and fired. The proceeding explosion was a phenomenal phosphorescing starburst. Six had fallen but more were on their way. The port side of the great cruiser opened vomiting out more interceptors. Just at that moment the Ebon Hawk burst into hyperspace.

Next stop: Dantooine.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

With The battle over and the course to their new port plotted, it left some time to gather ones breath. Alone in the starboard quarters sat Mission, her knees drawn up to her chest, tears streaming down her blue face.

Skye slipped in sat on the bunk along side the young woman. "Come here." she held the girl allowing her to simply weep. "I promise you Malak will be brought to justice for what he has done."

"I know." a meek response.

"Mission, the Beks were in the Lower city, maybe they fled to the Undercity. When the bombardment hit, you commed them right? Told them go deeper? I bet you they did; the Beks and dozens of others went lower. They'll be safe. It won't be easy down there eking out a life, but it's a life. And your friends in the Outcasts have already gone to their Promised Land. Hang on to that hope, Mission."

"I don't know how." The girl said, her heart broken. "My world is gone. Millions of lives lost for one." she shook her head. "Is Bastila's life worth so much more than all of theirs?"

Skye wanted to say that Bastila would say no. But there was a side to her that knew pragmatically and strategically, that sometimes however bitter, sacrifices needed to be made to save even more lives. Whole systems would fall if Malak captured Bastila. More worlds would share Taris's fate. "Those lives didn't fall to save Bastlia's escape; they perished due to the actions of desperate man. What Bastila can do with the Force is unique. From what I understand there are extremely few Jedi light or dark that can do it. Bastila's battle meditation can decimate whole armadas or save them. This war is to be decided with her."

"How…how can she be so powerful?"

"Morale. Much can be decided on the morale of soldiers. My job is to go behind enemy lines, infiltrate their ranks and ferret out information. But all the intelligence in the galaxy won't be a damn bit of good if your people are unable or unwilling to fight or if in the thick of it they blunder and trip up in the field or on their ships. That's what Bastila can do. She can give her allies a keener sense of their surroundings giving them greater successes in battle. She bolsters their morale to the extent they will push themselves to confront any opposition despite the odds. And do the exact opposite to her enemies. That's why Metal-Mouth wants her so badly."

What she didn't say to the woman-child still leaning in her arms, that it took a great strategist to know how to use such abilities to greater fruition. Just having the ability did not a great general make. Bastila's lacking command ability was self evident. Of course the young Jedi was accustomed to being controlled by the Council's will and bending knee to do their bidding without question.

"Skye, I want to stay with you, go with you when you go after that fracking bastard! Don't leave me behind on that farm planet." Mission's voice was still wavering with her tears but her anger burned brighter. All Skye did was to nod her head.

KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR~ KOTOR~KOTOR~

On the screen a great ball of green hovered before them on the forward viewer. Bastila stared at it before she found her voice. It seemed as distant when she did. "Dantooine. It seems like a lifetime since I last set foot on her surface, though in truth it has only been a few months. We should be safe from Malak here, for now at least.

Incredulously Carth barked, "Safe? You saw what the Sith fleet did on Taris. There won't be a building over two stories standing!" his voice grew higher in pitch and deeper in anger. "They turned the planet into a pile of rubble."

Bastila shook her head, "Even the Sith would think twice be attacking Dantooine. They are many Jedi here, including several of the most powerful masters of the Order. There is great strength within this place."

"I agree with Bastila, Carth. We should be safe here." Skye said coming into the cockpit.

"We can get support here and recuperate. The academy is a place of mental and spiritual healing. Something we could all use after we've been on Taris." Bastila said.

"Especially Mission." Skye uttered.

"Maybe you're right. It can't be easy to witness the annihilation of an entire planet. I know Mission must be taking it pretty hard." Carth shook his head sadly recalling the destruction of his own plant of Telos.

"She will find away to come to terms with her grief. She is stronger than she appears. We must give her time." Bastila said.

"She might be stronger than she appears Bastila, but she lost her home. Not all of us can remove themselves from emotion like a Jedi. For her there is no peace, there is only emotion. Raw emotion."

"I never said…" the younger woman sighed, "I didn't expect her not to grieve, Skye or to belittle her pain. She can find strength in her grief. I know you think I don't understand. I may have lived a sheltered life within the cloisters of the temple, but I am not so far removed that I do not understand what others feel, their pain and losses. The Force cries out in the deaths of Taris and I can feel them."

Regret flashed the Nagai's face, "I apologize for the assumption." she said humbly.

The Jedi nodded. "You are protective of her. It is natural you rise to her defence and watch over her."

"Speaking of watching over someone, how are our other guests doing?" Carth said drawing attention away from the tension of the moment.

"Better off than Mission. Zalbaar is a might upset because Mission is, but he's not as devastated. Canderous just sees the military might of things; his juices are flowing for a good fight. And the former slaves are coping fairly well. I had to sedate the younger sister Avid'ar as I did with Mission. They both should waken by the time we land."

"What of the girls you rescued, you just going to dump them off here?" Carth pressed the question.

"Actually I was hoping that Bastila could help them out. This enclave employs staff that are non-Jedi right? I wasn't kidding when I said what those two can do with their massage oils. Even if they don't open a true massage parlour their oils can be beneficial, even to the farmers around here."

"I'll make an inquiry, but I may be unable to do any more than that." The Jedi answered. "But I will make an attempt. On a similar note I must speak with the Masters about current events. There are things they must be made aware of if they are not already. After we land, please remain within the landing port until I return for you."

"No problem." Skye nodded. "While we're waiting, I'll see if I can't find someone to detail the ship. Synthesizer rations, MREs and the digestive track of a Wookie are not a good combination. I don't think the refresher had to work so hard since its first instalment."

Both Carth and Bastila made a face imagining the state Zalbaar had left things.

"Yeah no kidding, right? Good thing it's sonic or we'd be in a real…er….nevermind." Carth shuddered. Sometimes he wished there was something as a good mental flossing. There were some images that formed a melange able to stick around in one's head that you couldn't unsee or unimagine despite how many times you wished for it. This was one of them.

Of course the Force could sew such a thing but that was going a bit overboard. It was one thing to do a memory wipe on a droid; it was a whole new kettle of fish to do it to a sentient being. Yeah, considering the alterative, the image of Zalbaar and a ruined refresher was a better than the alterative of being an amnesiac because of the Force.

KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR~ KOTOR~KOTOR~

Not for the first time since entering the enclosure of the Enclave did Bastila wish for her traditional robes. The cowl's anonymity would be exceptionally handy right about now. She didn't know how many times she had been stopped in her process towards the Masters' inner chamber with greetings of astonishment of her return and questions of how she had escaped the destruction Taris.

She kept giving everyone the same explanation: she had to see the Masters first; if they would excuse her and not hamper her progress, thank you very much! More than a few times she wished she could be as flippant and verbose as Skye and tell everyone that came up to her to sod off and get the frell away from her because she didn't have time for anyone but the kriffing Masters. Imaging the scout's snarky words brought a snort of laughter to the young Jedi as she finally reached the Council room.

"Bastila, we welcome you back." Master Vandar was the first to greet her. He approached her leaning on his gimmer stick. "Your tenure as commander of the Endar Spire was far more eventful than any of us expected."

"We were ambushed, Master. The Sith knew we were going to be there, we were betrayed from within."

The impish master grunted slighting indicating he suspected as much. "Troubling. The enemy has many devices and agents at their disposal. Spies amongst them. Come young one, there is much to tell." The aged Jedi led the way into the Council chamber proper; there in a semicircle sat Masters Vrook, Zhar, and Dorak. By holographic representation were Masters Atris, Kavar, Lonna Vash, and Zez-Kai Ell.

Without fear Bastila stepped forward into the center of the chamber. This was not her first time before the Council of Masters. Each of them had been present during her return with Revan nearly two hears ago. But despite the lack of fear within the young Jedi there was some hesitancy and reluctance.

"Masters, there had been some recent develops concerning Revan. Her powers are becoming more realized to her. She is recalling her connection to the Force." Bastila said.

"We should have suppressed them fully." Vrook said with a snarl.

"Perhaps you should tell us what occurred both on the ship and the planet." Lonna said.

"I was not with her when the Endar Spire was attacked, as far as what occurred on the planet I can only tell you what I know from when we were reunited at the race track, the rest is second hand knowledge coming from Carth Onasi, the girl Mission Vao and from Rev…Ravensong."

It took over three and half hours to report all, mostly because Bastila had to pause several times in her retelling to answer questions. She skimmed over the death match and her involvement with the battle meditation knowing how much the Masters would disapprove. She reported that Skye had established herself both as the arena grand champion known as the Mysterious Stranger and as a bounty hunter for governmental contracts. She spoke of freeing Zalbaar from the Gamorrean slavers and the slaying of the rancor monster.

"During the race I felt her tap into the Force and pull on it, though subconsciously. She also used it during the ensuing skirmish after the race. She moved as Jedi, as she had before…" here Bastila paused gathering her breath, "before her reprogramming. She displayed the same prowess during her bouts in the arena; I've seen the playbacks and was witnessed to the last bout. She switched from form to form just as she had when she was still Revan. I saw her go between at least three different forms almost without conscious thought."

"It doesn't necessarily mean she's overcome the suppression we place upon her; Revan was after all re-programmed with the memories of a child raised in a Nagai monastery. The Nagai are formidable warriors, her abilities are more than likely a result of our programming. We must not jump to conclusions." Atris said.

"That isn't all." Bastila reaffirmed with some force behind her voice. "She's been recalling her former life specifically my confrontation with her on the bridge of her flagship prior to the explosion- though she recalls it only in dreams and visions. She is under the impression she has had the dreams because she had touched a part of one of my more intense memories"

"This can become problematic, if not handled properly." Kavar spoke. "We need her to recall how she and Malak became so powerful after their return from the outer reaches but not to recall so much that she becomes Revan once more."

Bastila shook her head but kept her silence.

"You are troubled young one," Vandar prompted. "Speak your thoughts."

"All this deception, all these secrets it isn't right, it betrays the sprit of the Code."

"Do you presume to know the Code more than we? You who have so recently been knighted?" Atris's voice became a degree colder. "Revan, defied the Council and betrayed the Order, and what she did to Meetra is irredeemable! It was her fault that Meetra fell to the dark side and was branded the Exile! We must reap the knowledge locked away in that scattered mind of hers. She is undeserving of benevolence we gave her. It was a mistake to save her life as you did on that ship Knight Shan, it should have been her grave. But what is done is done. Now we must all deal with your actions and pray the Dark Lord does not return."

"Be mindful Master Atris of your feelings, as must we all. We must all endeavour to recall that the person we knew as Revan is not the young scout known as Skye Ravensong." Vandar said sagaciously. "Knight Shan while your concern is noted, recall there are many paths one can take in the understanding of the Jedi Code. Many lives hang in the balance for what lies within the mind of one Nagai. Sometimes the truth must be manipulated for the greater good. We must harden our hearts in order to do what is necessary."

"I say this is foolish, we risk too much." Vrook shook his balding head. "Revan's fractured memories and this supposed connection to the Force are unreliable. As Atris and I believe the information locked away in her mind can be forcibly removed."

"Masters! That would surely kill her!" Bastila balked. "The whole reason her mind was reprogrammed was to harvest the information and turn it against Malak. To take it like that is a betrayal! We can't…"

"Nor will we use such methods." Vandar held up his three fingered hand.

"But we should consider it as an alterative." Atris said just as firmly as her counterpart. "Revan and Malak amassed vast amounts of power, weaponry and troops including many Dark Jedi. We must know how she accomplished this. Nearly two years have passed since her capture and reprogramming and we have yet to bare fruit."

"The memories filtering into her visions are the fruit." Bastila gave an impassioned plea. "If she can recall the battle as a third person, Skye can be influenced to recall how Revan amassed such terrible power."

"Do you rise to protect what is left in Revan's mind or out of some misguided loyalty over the close friendship you two shared before she abandoned the Order?" Atris snapped.

"My former friendship with Revan was no stronger than yours with Meetra, yet we both must do our duties for the Order, Master Atris." Bastila shot back hotly. "You sat in judgment of Meetra when she returned and exiled her. I have always done my duty just as you have despite our personal feelings."

Atris bristled but before she utter a word another spoke.

"Then you are content to continue your role-playing Bastila, fanning your ignorance over Revan's true identity? Are you content to continue to push her and guide her path?" Zez-Kai Ell spoke up for the first time. "Before you questioned this path now you advocate it and your part in it." It was a statement but it sounded more like a question or an accusation.

"I said I will do what is necessary." Bastila said. She didn't like the lies, the trickery, shame filled her but she had had to submit to the wisdom of the Council as she always had.

"When you leave here, you will bring her before us where she will be assessed for her Force potential and you will play your part as her sponsor." Zhar said.

"Before you leave young Bastila, what of your connection to her?" Vandar queried.

"Since she is realizing her power more and more I have found it difficult to continue to dampen it. I fear I will not be able to do so for much longer. I think she already suspects we have a connection."

"Then we will have to explain it to her in a manner most plausible. The intensity of battle generated a Force Bond between you two." Dorak piped up. "From a certain point of view it is the truth, she simply need not know which battle your connection was formed."

No Bastila thought, it wasn't formed above or on Taris, it was born on Revan's flagship when she joined her life-force with the Dark Lord to save her life. Even with the twisted memories the Masters gave her Revan knew there was a connection to her 'Angel' the one she professed her undying love for.

"Bastila, when you use the Battle Meditation you connect to the sprits, into the hearts and minds of others to influence them. I believe it maybe possible to use your Force Bond and the affects of Battle Meditation to connect to Revan and influence her dreams. Show her once more the confrontation on the flagship. That will be a catalyst to begin the induction of your Force Bond with her, a way to explain it to the personality of Ravensong." Kavar ordered.

Once more shame washed over Bastila, the part she was to play become more and more bitter in her mouth. She made herself believe the Masters had a wisdom and foresight beyond her, that their judgments could not be questioned. As Master Vandar had said, you have to harden your heart…

KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR~ KOTOR~KOTOR~

Even as Bastila was making her foray into the Enclave proper, the remaining companions decided to stretch their legs and have a look around the port. With the credits they had foraged, salvaged and earned the four hit the shops. Canderous having his own credit chits hit the weapons emporium. Coincidentally enough the same outlet store also housed the armoury which was where Carth had wandered off too.

For his part Zalbaar was left with the ship to oversee the detailing and since it was his fault the synthesizer and refresher weren't working properly it was only right he saw it fixed.

Ravensong despite her desire to check out the armours or new blades she had other priorities. Namely Mission, since she took the girl under her wing she had become her responsibility. The kid needed a few more changes of clothes other than which she brought with her, and then there were the former slaves Ald'rehuna and Avid'ar. Having urged them to take the chance for the freedom there was a certain amount responsibility there as well. Skye gave them each a credit of five hundred credit chits, from a stash they found within a hidden container in the starboard bunks. It wasn't a great deal but it would at least get them a few basic essentials off the racks, nothing name-brand but then all that was important was to clothe their backs, and a decent pair of shoes with good soles.

Of course Skye had start fishing around for a few places that might be willing to take on apprentice shopkeepers if not the oils the girls could concoct. It was in one of the clothiers that four women crossed path s with yet another Twi'lek. She was might older than Mission about ten years or so, with tanned skin, her lekku were darker tipped in green not unlike Zaedra's purple. She approached not with the friendly eagerness of a shopkeep looking to make a sale but with the familiarity of an old friend.

"Mission? Mission is that you?" the woman called out. "By the stars it is you!"

"Lena! You table-dancing-brother-stealing shutta!" Mission yelped as soon as she saw the other woman. "I autta hit you so hard your lekku pop off!"

"Mission?" The now identified Lena sounded both shocked and hurt by the greeting. "I don't understand…why are you acting this way?"

"She gets a might worked up where her brother is concerned." Skye supplied.

"Now that I can understand." Lena said, her voice now caring the tones of regret. "He does that to everyone he meets."

"Where is he? Where's Griff?" Mission demanded. "You…you brother-stealer!"

"I'm sorry Mission, last I heard he was Tatooine."

"Used him and dumped him did you?" the girl sneered.

"It's the other way around Mission; I didn't want to leave you on Taris. I even offered to pay your way and why not? I paid for everything else, but Griff insisted that you didn't want to go. I said then we shouldn't go."

"You..." Mission yelped, not wanting to believe it. Even with her anger high there was a part in her brain that said 'oh it was very much the truth.' And that made her rage. "You're lying! Griff would never leave me behind. You took him, used his credits and when they ran out you dumped him." That had to be the way it was. It just had to be!

"Mission, it's the other way around, Griff used me, just like he uses everyone. I'm sorry. I actually cared about the two of you, I still care about you, but your brother is bad news."

"Liar!" Mission screamed sailing for Lena but was caught up easily by Skye.

"Cool your retro thrusters, Mission. We'll contact your brother get his side of things." The Nagai looked to the older Twi'lek. "You said he was on Tatooine. You know where?"

"Last I heard he joined up with the Czerka mining operation out of Anchorhead." Lena said sadly. "For what it's worth, I'm truly sorry Mission."

"Hurph…Shutta." the girl huffed, glaring as Lena passed by her.

"Mission…" Lena sighed, reaching out for the girl but stopped. "Good luck to you. I hope that if we ever meet up again, things will be better."

Mission still glared, it softened only when she met Skye's inquisitive gaze. "Tell me you don't believe her, Skye."

"Mission, I don't know your brother, maybe he isn't the man you thought he was; maybe she was lying. But you did say he ran up debts on your home planet before you fled to Taris. The same probably happened again both on Taris and here. We'll look him up and get the answers from him."

Mission nodded, "Okay. Thanks Skye. For everything."

The Nagai nodded, "So hey why don't we grab some grub not from a synthesizer? I saw a café not far from here."

"Oh a hot meal would be lovely, Mistress." Avid'ar said shyly. Though she knew she was now free her years as a slave were too long to simply overcome her braking and training.

"Forgive her outspokenness, Mistress…" Ald'rehuna started but was stopped with Skye's raised hand. "It's alright, remember neither one of you are slaves any more, Ald'rehuna. Be as outspoken as you want." she smiled in that disarming way of hers.

"So how do you think the guys are doing?" Mission asked.

"Five credits says Carth lost his temper and belted Canderous." Skye said in a way of an answer.

"Oh too easy," Mission said, "Carth always loses his temper."

Tempting this new outspokenness Ald'rehuna ventured, "I wager five that Canderous lays the last punch."

"I'll top that, and say it gets them arrested." Mission added.

"Then they will contact you to intervene, Mistress Skye." Avid'ar smiled.

"Oh your on, missy, Fly Boy will never call me," Skye shook her head, "And the Old Man is too proud. "I'll put money on that. I place ten on they call no one."

"Ald'rehuna, what do you say?" Mission prompted.

"I know nothing of Carth save for our short time on the Ebon Hawk, but I do know Canderous. If Master Carth strikes first, it will be Master Canderous will strike last and should they be arrested I know he will not call for you Mistress but he will drop your name."

"So…I'm confused: you're saying he won't call Skye to bail him out but he will drop her name so what Skye gets a call anyway?" Mission questioned.

The former slave nodded.

"Okay, that's your bet then." Skye smirked.

As they were making there way to the café, Mission chirped out, "Oh hey what if the Old Man or Fly Boy calls Bastila?"

Skye burst out laughing. "Call the Jedi Princes?" she chuckled more. "Pft! That will _never_ happen. That's not even worth placing a bet on."

Hour and half into their meal there was a call on the comms: one Canderous Ordo claiming to be in the employ of one Skye Ravensong and one Commander Carth Onasi had been arrested for public brawling. It seemed Onasi stuck the fist blow after being deliberately taunted by the Mandalorian, whose own punch to Republic soldier's glass jaw not only knocked the man out but also knocked out a molar. Upon such time they were promptly arrested by two patrolling Jedi padawans. No, neither man were asking for bail, only a notification as to what happened to them. Ald'rehuna walked away thirty credits the richer.

As for the men they would be released on their own recognisance after paying a very hefty fine and the threat of being back in the cells for a much longer stay. For Carth, it was an extra hour at the dentist (on his own credits) with a word of strong warning not to do it again.

~KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR~ KOTOR~KOTOR~

Bastila returned to the ship to find Skye and Mission lounging on the bottom bunk in the port side bunks playing a hand of pazzak. There were no piles of credits, not even chips. Bet even for a friendly game it seemed rather cut-throat. Both where so intent on the game neither noticed the Jedi lingering at the door.

"I saw that!" Skye yelped, "You cheated."

"You couldn't possibly have seen it. I'm good, very good."

"So you admit you cheated."

"Well of course I did, but you didn't see it."

The scout cocked her head slightly. "You forget how good I am, it's my job to notice that sort of thing."

"Oh well that's true enough. But the only way you saw my slip is if you've been cheating too."

Skye smirked. "Cheating? Me?" she waved her hand away. "Perish the thought; I'm just that good, besides it's a friendly game."

"Peft! Pull the other lekku."

"Oh, I've cheated when it was necessary to complete a mission. Lie too. Hell, I lied my way through all of Taris. But that's what a good scout does, suss out what needs to be known, gain that INTEL and report back to the Brass."

"Have you ever had to carry out orders you disagreed with?" Mission asked.

Bastila too desired this answer, for now she was in a place she completely disagreed with the orders the Masters had given her.

"Yeah, though I carried them out, I did with protest. But if you're asking if I found some orders completely detestable…scouts don't normally get those kinds of orders. We're sent in covertly to get intelligence, hyperspace routes, sometimes though very rarely sabotage. There was a time I was sent into a Mandie base during the war, discovered a nest of slaves: my orders were clear and irrefutable, collect set of coordinates to one of their battle stations and get out, leave the slaves or compromise the security of the mission."

"But you freed then any way didn't you." Mission said with a knowing smile.

But Ravensong shook her head. "No." she said with a hint of guilt in her voice. "I didn't and I hated my superiors for those orders even if I knew they were strategically right to give them. Morally it was wrong. I had to play the ghost and go unseen and perform my duties. I have never forgiven those who gave me those orders. Five dozen lives irrevocably changed forever, many butchered in the braking processes but had I disobeyed and the Mandies discovered my purpose then more thousands of lives would have been lost. Sometimes you are called upon to do despicable things for the greater good, but it doesn't make it easier to live with. In fact it is a very bitter pill to swallow."

Bastila absorbed the words. '_Sometimes you are called upon to do despicable things for the greater good, but it doesn't make it easier to live with_.' Those words perhaps more than any other spoken to her by the Masters made her able to swallow the bitter pill of the orders she had been given.

"You're back." Skye said without turning.

For a moment, Bastila wondered if Ravensong had felt her through the Force then as suddenly as she had allowed the truant thought into her mind, she dismissed it. Of course the Nagai knew she was there, she had after all a scout's perception and awareness.

Mission didn't seem all that surprised to find the Jedi lurking at the threshold of the crew quarters. But as a streetwise kid, she spent practically her whole life in the Lower City amongst swoop gangers. No doubt such a life gave the girl a very sharp eye to notice all around her.

"I have just returned, yes. And with some news. I have spoken briefly with the Council. They request an audience with you Skye. We should go at once."

Skye handed her cards to Mission and rose from the bunk and turned her full attention to the Jedi but said nothing.

"Wow, Skye that's huge!" Mission exclaimed.

Carth having been in the same vicinity when the women were passing through Ops heard Bastila's proclamation to add to those given by the young scoundrel. "An audience with the Jedi Council? That's pretty unusual for someone who isn't even a Jedi. What's this about, Bastila?" his words were almost angry and more certainly accusatory. He cast a glowering look to the Nagai. He was very much in a fowl mood due to the Mandie that Ravensong seemed to have taken a liking to and his mouth hurt like a son of a bitch.

"Sorry Carth, but I can not tell you. All I ask is that you trust the Force and the wisdom of the Council." Bastila answered.

The man was now clearly pouting. "Well I don't like being left out of the loop, but I'm not looking to get you into any trouble with the Jedi Masters. We'll do things your way for a while."

"Gee thanks ever-so-much for letting _me_ go, Dad. Your benevolence and permission is most bountiful." Skye snipped. She gave him a rather rude and more than a mocking salute.

"I…I didn't mean it like that." Carth became defensive. "I…."

"…best you stay out of Jedi affairs. Better yet, go back your fleet where you can be of more use to the war effort."

"Skye, don't taunt him so deliberately, it is unbecoming to take advantage of so easy a mark." Bastila said.

That got a chuckle from both Skye and Mission. "Wise words master Jedi." Skye tilted her head respectfully. "By the looks of that mug of his, I wager he had a more than enough taunting?"

Bastila looked more closely and saw the large purple bruise on the pilot's jaw. "How did that happen?"

"How do you think?" Skye's eyes tinkled. "Male pissing contests always lead to bruises on the face, a bit of jail time and credits."

At this Bastila bristled. "Commander Onasi do you mean to tell me you got into an altercation with Canderous?"

"That Mandie deliberately…."

"Yes or no will do." The Jedi said with durasteel in her voice.

"Yes."

"You of course realize this is a Jedi compound and as such this incident has been reported to your superiors and is now apart of your records?" Bastila scolded the sulking man. "Such a thing is trivial for a man like Ordo but for you….you should have known better. Are you not a high ranking officer and not some knuckle-dragging grunt on his first day of leave?"

The tone of her voice reflexively snapped Onasi into a ridge stance of attention. "I hope for your sake you keep your emotions under control lest they drive you into another avoidable altercation."

He had heard practically the same thing from the young padawan that had arrested him but hearing it with a much more mature and authoritative voice, the words sank into the thick stubborn head Onasi possessed. "It won't happen again, Bastila. You have my word on it."

"So far your word has gained you nothing but trouble." Skye said under her breath.

"What?" Onasi demanded

"Oh nothing." the scout chuckled. "Guess we should head off, we wouldn't want to keep the Council waiting."

"No that would not do," Bastila said. "Give me a moment to inform them you've answered their summons." The last words were said looking deliberately at Carth who shrunk back making him incapable of any more of a response.

Moments latter Skye, Mission and Zalbaar followed in the Jedi's wake not knowing what to expect from the Masters, to be truthful Skye was a little apprehensive. Her mind so preoccupied with the upcoming meeting she was actually taken by surprise when a woman's voice snapped out at her.

"You there! Padawan! Why are you not wearing the customary robes of the Jedi? Do you mock the honored tradition of our Order?"

Skye looked around for the poor student that caught so much ire form this human woman only to realize that she was the intended target. "I believe you're mistaken, I'm not a padawan. I'm not even an apprentice. I'm Skye Ravensong, I came here with Bastila."

"Bastila Shan… I have heard of her. They say she has already mastered the art of Battle Meditation. Remarkable for one so young. Though I have heard she has a foolish pride in her own talents."

"Oh but you're forgetting arrogant and condescending." Skye smirked. "But…ah…she's also handy with that lightsaber of hers, so there's something."

"As for you," The woman said ignoring the jib "You claim you are not a padawan learner, this I find difficult to believe. The Force is un-ordinarily strong within you. I can feel its presence burning."

Skye's first impulse was to snap back that she was telling the truth, or that she need not be judged by the upstart, but she kept her tongue civil though not empty of its usual wit. "Be that as it may, if a Jedi can not tell the truth when it is being told to them, why then should they be allowed to judge? Hum?"

All at once the human was humbled. "Please forgive the abruptness with which I first greeted you. I was harsh and perhaps unfair, my master often warns me I must keep control if my emotions. I have much left to learn, it seems. I am called Beyla, Knight of the Order. I wish you pleasant stay here on Dantooine, Miss Ravensong. May the Force be with you."

"And with you." Skye said and to her surprise she meant it.

"Wow, Skye first Rukil, now that Beyla chick thinks you have a lot of power. Maybe you really are a Jedi."

"At least a Force sensitive." added Big Z. "She isn't a Jedi yet."

"He's got a point Mission, I haven't yet been admitted. I don't even know if I will be."

"If you are admitted, you're going to join aren't you?" Mission asked.

The Nagai nodded, "Oh yes." She flashed a cocky grin.

As they stepped inner the Conclave's chambers the others were stopped by two knights.

"The audience with the Council not for them, I apologize but we can not allow passage to them at this time." one of the knights said.

Skye turned back to her companions, "Sorry guys. Why don't you go take a look around the areas in the conclave you're allowed in? Take a look around the rest of Dantooine like the Old Man's doing. Speaking of him make sure Ordo isn't causing too much of a ruckus. He and Onasi were just let out of the clink just because they can't reign in their raging testosterone. Given their natures they'll end right back in there, despite the Princess's warning."

"Maybe it is for the best if they do," Zalbaar said. "They will cause no more trouble for us."

"Tempting." Ravensong nodded "Anyway, I've got to go."

Skye was half expecting the grandeur of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, not the humble chambers of which the Council now presided. She saw only four male members at present, the other masters either must be back on Coruscant or attending duties elsewhere in the galaxy. There were three humans, a pink-skinned Twi'lek and green impish looking sentient of which she had no name for his species.

It was the Twi'lek that first spoke. "Ah, so you are the one who rescued Bastila." Skye cut a glance to the Jedi in question and saw her shift from foot to foot as the truth was out. "It is appropriate you are here now. We have been discussing your rather special case. I am Zhar of the Jedi Council. With me are Masters Vrook," the taciturn balding human with a permanent scowl upon his face, "Master Vandar," the impish one, "and our chronicler of our academy Master Dorak," the dusky middle-aged human. "Knight Bastila, I am sure you are already familiar with."

"What do you want from me?" Skye practically demanded. She wanted clean and clear answers of what they expected of her and what she could of them. Her words seemed to cause the frown on Vrook's face more deeply ingrained upon his lined face.

"Bastila tells us you are strong in the Force. We are considering you for Jedi training."

Vrook openly sneered. "Master Zhar speaks out of turn. We _**need**_ indisputable proof of your strong affiliation to the Force before we would _**even**_consider accepting you for training."

"Proof!" Bastila yelped, stepping forward. "Surely the entire Council can feel the strength of the Force within this woman. And I have already related the events that took place on Taris…"

"Perhaps it was simply luck." again the contempt rang discord through Vrook's harsh voice.

"We both know there is no luck. There is only the Force." Zhar said calmly. "We all feel the power of Bastila's companion though it is wild and untamed. Now that it's begun to manifest itself can we safely ignore it, just because of her age?"

"The Jedi training is long and difficult, even when working with a young and open mind. Teaching a child is hard, how much harder will it be for an adult to learn the ways of a Jedi?" Vrook continued to argue.

Skye had just about enough of the old coot. And here she thought Onasi could raise her hackles quickly, this human took the prize. She pinned the codger with a look of pure confidence and a smidgen of defiance. "I'm willing try my best. I will meet your trials, Masters. Put me through them."

"Traditionally the Jedi do not accept adults for training, though there have been some exceptions in the history of our order. But you are a special case Skye Ravensong." Dorak said

"I agree with Master Dorak. Many of our own pupils are leaving the Jedi order to follow the Sith teachings. We need recruits to stand against Malak. With Revan dead…." Vandar said with a surprisingly deep voice for one so small.

Vrook cast his gaze directly at Skye, that sneer on his face became grimmer and darker. "Are you so certain _Revan_ is truly dead? What if we undertook the training of this one," he flippantly gestured towards the Nagai before him. "and the Dark Lord should return?"

"We should discus this mater more thoroughly in _private._" Vandar interrupted Master of all grumpiness. "Bastila you and your companion must go. This is a mater for the Council alone."

Bastila bowed with great respect before her superiors. "As you wish Master Vandar, we shall return to the Ebon Hawk and leaver you to your deliberations."

SWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSW

"So…? Are you going tell us what happened?" Mission was bouncing on the balls of her feet.

All heads turned Skye's way, both humans, Zalbaar and even T3-M1 as they were all seated around the table in the laughable space that served as the Hawk's mess hall, which was a little alcove just off Ops.

"They are debating whether or not to take me into the academy to be a Jedi Knight." Skye answered digging into a plate curry.

"A Jedi Knight? I knew there was greatness in you. I am most horned that my life debt will be to a Jedi." Zalbaar seemed to be more at ease with his pledge than he had in the week before.

"Old Wrinkle Skin was right about your destiny." Mission beamed.

"Not so fast, they haven't decided anything yet." Bastila warned, pushing around the food on her plate. Apparently she had no apatite.

"Oh I don't think they will turn her away. I doubt they want Ravensong to go to the Sith just because she's a might older than most students." Canderous heaped another helping of the curry they had picked from one local bistros near the small space port.

Bastila looked positively terrified at the prospect, as if she actually entertained the idea that Ravensong would do exactly that. "If you will excuse me, with everything going on I find myself needing to meditate. It's been too long since I've centered myself." She quickly rose and moved towards the portside quarters.

Zalbaar gave one look to the Jedi's uneaten portion and before taking it for himself. When Mission gave him a look of recrimination he merely shrugged his big furry shoulders. "If she wasn't going to eat it, no sense in allowing it to go to waste was there?"

"No I guess not." Mission shook her head. Big Z and his never-full-stomach. It made her wonder if all Wookiees were like that or just her big buddy.

Carth was completely silent during affair, quietly eating his dinner.

"This is great, Skye. They'll let you in, no probs." Mission was all grins, returning her attention to her hero. "You're going to make a great Jedi. You got all the cool hero bits down, now you just have to get those Force powers down."

Skye only smiled softly.

"You did a lot of nearly impossible things back there on Taris but I've never seen you display any sort of Jedi talents." Carth finally spoke up.

To be honest Skye was curious about this aspect herself. The synthesis of what she accomplished on Taris and her abilities she had taken away from the Nagai monastery was a remarkable feat. It was strange how quickly those talents had come to her as if in memory of some long lost dream.

Skye, needing to prove more to herself than to any of those seated about the table stretched out her hand and concentrated on the fork at Bastila's empty place. She simply envisioned it standing on end. It took a couple of seconds but fork jostled, flipped up and stood on all four prongs.

Mission clapped and stuck her tongue out at Carth as if to say 'see I told you so.'

Skye's lips curled as she made the fork dance across the table, slid into Carth's plate, and scoop up a bit of the curry.

In flash of perhaps of parental intuition Carth knew exactly what was going to happen in the next second. "Don't you dare!"

Flick. Splat!

"Uguck!" Onasi sputtered.

Everyone around the table laughed.

"I think she just forked you over, Republic." Canderous chuckled.

Carth wiped away the splattered chunks of meat and sauce from his face trying to look disgusted but he laughed in spite of himself. "Oh very mature, Ravensong. Trying to prove you're young enough for the Masters to take in?"

"Just so." Skye smirked. "Hell, there's one ancient geezer I wouldn't mind doing that to." she said thinking Vrook and his face covered in curry sauce which caused her to release a fit of giggles.

"I highly doubt the Masters will accept you on the merits of starting food fight," Carth took the now listless fork stuck it back deep into the food on his plate. He smirked.

"No? Damn." Skye was still smiling triumphantly. "Still, I proved the Force is with me."

Carth smiled and nodded, then flicked the load of curry he had on the fork at the scout. But Skye sensed his intent, held up her hand quickly and with a small wave of two fingers sent the hurtling mucky curry directly into Canderous's face.

"You two children want to knock that shit off?" The Mandalorian groused as he used a napkin to clean the guck from his chin.

"Sorry, Old Man," Skye's face was still smiling. She was far more pleased that she was capable of what she had done rather than end results. She could use the Force! The thrill of it filled her to overwhelming gratification. 'Tell me now it was just luck you stick-up-the-ass prick.'

(AN: Yes, yes, I know that Bastila in the game is referred to as a padawan but then she speaks of becoming a Master in a conversation. And my thoughts are how can one be tested as a Master without the Jedi trials that first make one a knight? Then in many of the books she is referred to as a Master so I bumped her up to a knight. Seeing what she went through on Revan's flagship it might as well served as her Trials. If it is unorthodox say to what we see in the new game just take a look and Anakin. So in not so many words live with it, I made Bastila a full knight. Besides Juhuni can't be the only knight on the Hawk, now can she?)


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

_Black fog crept along the corridors of memory._

_Snap—hiss the familiar sound of a lightsaber. A flash of green. Red. Gold. The humming clash as blade kissed blade._

"_No! NO! I won't let it end like this. I won't let you die here!" The mists of memory allowed recollection of the voice. Bastila's voice. _

_Two heartbeats: one dimming, the other strong, fortified, full of life. The staccato drumming of two hearts found a single beat, a singular rhythm. One heart beating for two lives brought back the fading soul. _

_A soft whisper, a gentle touch. …"You will not die this day but live to face the future. Come-what-may."_

"_Angel…" words not spoken but felt. _

_Fog swirled, churned, pulsed. The smouldering dying bridge transformed into a chambers of a long forgotten ruins._

_Another voice…male. "I can feel the power of the dark side. Can you not feel it filling you?" _

_It was Malak, not yet with his steal jaw. He seemed so young… as did the hooded and masked figure before him- smaller and pacing deep in thought._

"_Revan, once we pass beyond this door, we can never go back. The Order will surely banish us. Is it worth it?" _

_The masked figure didn't answer but turned from her pacing before a great black door within the ruins. With the wave of a hand the massive barricade groaned and opened. Revan masked and cloaked strode ever forward with blind determination. _

_The mists swirled, black and grey. _

Skye bolted from her bunk, her heart slamming hard against her breastbone. The dreams, for they were _dreams_, not a single vision, were terrifying in their questions- Bastila with a dying Reven on the Dark Lord's bridge with the words spoken by her sweet saviour, her Jedi Angel. The darkness of the forgotten crypt and buried secretes on a Jedi world.

She tried grasping at the strands of memory within the dream, but always as before they remained elusive. Memories not her own but felt as if she had lived them. 'By the Night Mother now even my memories are getting muddled with Bastila's. What the hell is going on in that head of yours, Princess? Why the frack am I still linked to your memories? I have enough trouble with my own; I sure as hell don't need yours. So you can take them back.'

Scrubbing her fingers through her long black hair, Ravensong attempted in vain to push back the memories of the night.

"Skye? You okay?" came a sleepy response from a barely awake teenager on the top bunk.

"Yeah, bad dream. Don't worry about it, Kiddo" Ravensong answered, "go back to sleep."

"What time is it?" Mission said through a yawn.

"Early. I'm not wearing my chrono, but I wager it's around 0500."

"Yuck! I'm going back to bed. Wake me two hours _after_ the sun gets up." The girl plopped back down onto her pillow and covered her head with her blanket.

Skye chuckled in soft amusement as she moved for the refresher. She only had an hour before the meeting with the Jedi council. That was best done with a clear head, not one mired in lost and mangled memories.

Jump in, jump out; though not full military Ravensong followed a lot of their procedures- one of them being a two minute shower. In three she was fully dressed, geared up and heading out the rear hatch. It was there she crossed paths with Onasi and Ordo. Both were attempting very poorly to ignore one another.

Since their incarceration both males at least made surface if not shallow effort not to go for each other throats. Ordo was busily toiling at one of the workbenches no doubt installing a few of the mods for his guns he had picked up the day previous, but hadn't the chance to toy with them until now. He didn't even look up when the scout passed by him.

Seeing Ravensong emerge down the gangplank Carth however had a different reaction. "This morning is getting stranger by the minute. First Bastila comes out looking like she saw a ghost and now you. Are you sure you're alright? Neither of you look well."

"I had a rough night." Skye said dismissively. "Did she say anything?"

"Well Bastila did mention that you should go to the Council chamber before she left. It is no doubt urgent you shouldn't keep them waiting."

"Yeah they're supposed to come to a decision whether or not they're taking me on as a padawan- and I decided whether or not I'm going to let them."

Carth turned astonished at the Nagai's words. "I don't think you get to say no to the Jedi Council on something like this. If you can use the Force, its probably best if you…"

"They're waiting." Skye turned from the human.

She didn't need him to tell her what she already knew. If she didn't agree to 'enlist' they'd mentally neuter her. She didn't know what severance from the Force would be like but it wasn't something she wanted to experience. Even if she didn't know she had the Force before her connection to Bastila, it had always been apart of her. You were born with the Force or you weren't it wasn't something you suddenly developed during puberty like breasts or facial hair. That being said, she wanted to develop her abilities and hone them to a razor sharp edge.

The discipline within the enclave could not differ that much from what she experienced within the monastery on Deraila. Actually the prospect was strangely compelling. The rituals, trials, spiritual and marital training of the monastery always brought a sense of inner tranquillity to the scout. Though, some might consider that learning the art of death dealing at the age of five to be somewhat twisted and dark, bordering on the teachings of the Sith.

Skye thought such views to be short-sighted and not at well informed. It was not unlike the widely held belief that Jedi were incapable of feeling true emotions because of their Code. Rumours and ideas were notoriously difficult to silence let alone kill. You constantly had to prove to others the contrary. It seemed that once again Ravensong was going to be placed in that position, only this time she was attempting to prove to the Jedi Masters she was worth the risk to undertake the training.

Upon entering the Council chambers, Ravensong quickly divorced her mind from errant thoughts. She already felt unnerved with all the eyes of the Masters on her. Vrook was practically glaring, Zhar look unnerved. Dorak seemed intrigued and worried, only Vandar was difficult to read. The only hint of his thoughts was that his ears were not as perky as they had been when the Nagai had first met him.

Master Vandar was the first to speak. "Bastila told us the most unusual development. She claims you and she have shared a dream; a vision of Malak and Revan in the ancient ruins here on Dantooine."

Skye snapped her head around to her counterpart. There was a connection between them and Skye was aware of it, but to go so deep they now shared dreams that was something all together very different. To be so intimately connected, Ravensong didn't know if she would feel violated or a voyeur.

Dorak's voice brought attention back to him. "These ruins have long been known to us. But we believe them to be merely burial mounds. Perhaps they were something more than what we first suspected, if Revan and Malak found meeting there."

Skye once more pinned Bastlia was her eyes, questions smouldering behind a well placed mask of control. "Yes they seemed to be searching for something. If you saw it Bastila, do you have an idea what they were after?"

The Jedi knight shook her head. "No. No idea. Revan seemed to be internally debating what Malak was voicing. A choice… one that once made and they proceeded, they would have been banished. It seemed to weigh heavily upon them. Especially Revan."

"They chose banishment when they chose to go to war." Vrook commented venomously. "They choose to follow the path of the dark side when they turned from our wisdom. Their decision in the ruins proves how far they had fallen."

"Just how much do you know about this dream?" Skye asked ignoring the glowering human.

"Bastila has described this shared dream in great detail. We feel there is more to this dream. It is a vision. The Force is acting through you as it acts through Bastila." Vandar's voice had a claming effect as much as it had a commanding one.

"I'll trust in your greater wisdom but how does Bastila know what I have or have not seen in my dreams? She knew both former Jedi- wouldn't that change her perceptions?"

"You and Bastila share a powerful connection to the Force, and to each other." Zhar started explaining. Both women's eyes met, the brown pair almost seemed ashamed by the revelation. "This is not unheard of. Connections in the Force often form between master and student. But rarely does a bond form so quickly."

Skye's eyes never left Bastila's. She could feel the human's unrest, her shame. The scout misinterpreted it as disgust. 'As if I wanted to be connected to you, Princess.' Ravensong thought, apparently loud enough for Bastila to pick up on it.

"Whatever dangers may lie ahead we can not ignore the destiny that brought you and Bastila here to us, together." Vandar said.

"I'm still trying to process that she and I are joined. What gives with that? And why?"

Bastila still had no voice for the scout. Her deferring look to the masters perhaps spoke more volumes to the scout than she had intended. "You and she are linked as is your fate to hers. Together you two may be able to stop Darth Malak and the Sith."

Again Vrook spoke and his voice still contemptuous and sneering, "But do not let your mind be filled with visions of glory and power. Such things are the path to the dark side. They way of the light is long and difficult as you must learn. Are you ready for such hardship?"

"Yes, I'm ready for whatever awaits me, Master Varook. But whatever your problem with me is old man, maybe it's best you spell it out now. I thought Jedi Masters were supposed be all calm, and sanguine- you're far from that pal. You're practically seething with anger and resentment. And your story that Bastila and I have a connection born out that little fracas after the season opener doesn't track. It's a nice story but it has a lot plot holes in it. There wasn't even a kriffing Sith there, just a bunch of spice snorting gangers. The danger wasn't large enough, or dire enough for the kind of bond you're talking about to be made.

"Maybe because I wasn't taken in as youngling and educated here or in any of your other Jedi temples you think I'm a bit thick and you can skim over some the details. You placed me on the _Endar Spire's_ crew manifest because my skills as a scout and the fact I pick up on tiny details. I didn't suddenly lose those skills because I'm linked to the Princess here. So what gives? Are you Masters going to tell me the straight up truth or am I going to piece it together on my own? I guarantee you if it is the latter, I'm walking."

Bastila gasped at the open defiance and disrespect. Vandar raised his three fingered hand, immediately stopping any argument.

"Please understand that in this there is little choice in this matter for you or us." the small impish Master said. His regretful tone wasn't lost on the scout. "Across the galaxy the numbers of our Order dwindle. We have sent many Jedi in a quest to find a way to thwart Malak. Many have not returned. The Sith hunt the Jedi down like animals, ambushing and assassinating our brothers and sisters wherever they are found. We fear it is only a matter of time until they discover even this hidden refuge."

"Other Jedi have fallen from the light and embraced the dark side, giving their alliances to the Sith and to Malak as their dark lord." Vrook growled.

"Just how many Jedi are turning to the dark side? Nothing is just as easy as waking up and saying 'Golly gee I think I want vast power and more of it and I'm sick of snide masters giving me the evil eye pretending to be all light side. I think I'll just become a Sith and be done with it." Skye asked, deliberately baiting Varook.

"Perhaps you do not understand the lure of the dark side. It is not easy to resist. Malak's power grows as more and more planets fall to his conquering armies." Varook said. "It is also clear you do not understand the proper protocols within the presence of the Council."

Zhar decided to intervene before the heat between his colleague and the young Nagai grew far more intense that it could not be contained. "If Malak's not stopped the Republic will fall. And the Jedi will be hunted to extinction. The galaxy will enter a time of darkness and tyranny not seen for a thousand generations."

"The Council has declared that you Skye and Bastila must investigate the ancient runes you dreamed of once the Council deems you are ready." Vandar concluded. "Master Zhar will take you on as his padawan."

"Perhaps you will find some clue, some explanation of how Revan and Malak were corrupted. And perhaps then you shall find away to stop them." Dorak said. "Skye you are correct about the Jedi turning, something more is as you said at play, and something is corrupting the Jedi captured by Malak's people, perhaps some kind of indoctrination."

"I'm ready now, if it's that dire, send me. I accept the mission."

"Impatience on top of impertinence. You will heed the word of the Council!" Vrook all but snarled. "The Force flows through you like no student we have ever seen. But you are willful and headstrong, Rev…Ravensong. A dangerous combination."

"Before we send you to investigate the ruins, you must be trained in the ways of the Jedi so you can resist the darkness within yourself, within all of us. Otherwise you are doomed to fail." Vandar again intervened as the others had. In his eyes reflected that perhaps it had been a bad idea to include Vrook on the proceedings. But what was done was done.

"As you wish Master Vandar." Skye titled her head in a bow of true respect.

"We must begin your training at once. You have a destiny upon you that you must be prepared to face. The entire fate of the galaxy is upon you."

"No pressure." Skye smiled worriedly.

"I can only hope you are up for the challenge." Vrook said.

Skye shot him a look of pure defiance. "I get the feeling you actually want me to fail. You still haven't told me what your hang up with me is."

"If you find me overly critical it is because we can afford nothing but absolute perfection from you and from Bastila. For all our sakes you must succeed in your training. Concentrate your lessons to come, Ravensong."

"Bastila, be so good as to show our newest acolyte to the dormitories. Given the unique nature of your connection to each other we have deemed it advisable you two will share quarters." Zhar said "See to it she is also properly attired in the robes of an acolyte."

Ravensong followed Bastila but before they came to the threshold of the Council chambers, she turned around. "Wait. Masters, there is another matter. In the course of fleeing Kang's estate we freed two slaves, sisters: Ald'rehuna and Avid'ar. They are talented in the arts of massage therapy and creating oils…"

"The Jedi do not engage in brothels…." Vrook started but Ravensong interrupted them.

"I didn't say whores, I said massage and it is no euphuism. I was sorely injured in acquiring the means to escape Taris. Had it not been for their skills the battle against Kang and his lackey may have had a different outcome. They aided us in acquiring the codes to unlock the Ebon Hawk and I freed them. They have become my responsibility. I would like to see them installed in employment here. Allow them to use their arts of physical therapy and topical solutions to aid say young novices and acolytes during training. If not then loan me the funds to give them so they may set up their own shop."

Vandar smiled, "And if it is funds loaned how do you suppose to repay such finances?"

"I have a droid, he's worth easily two thousand credits, after that you can garnish a parentage from the shops overall profits during the fiscal year. If I did not think to need the Ebon Hawk for our mission against Malak, I'd sell her to aid them."

"This means much to you." Zhar asked. "You must realize the Jedi Order is not a charity."

"The word was given. I mean to keep it."

"As Master Zhar said we are not a charity but we can be charitable. We will give them an opportunity within the enclave." Vandar said. "The fact you are willing to go such lengths to fulfil your oath speaks highly of them. Leave their details with young Knight Beyla. She will see them comfortably quartered and provisioned if this is their wish. You can also inform them they will be given a small stipend for their services."

"Thank you Masters." Ravensong bowed humbly then stoically and quietly left.

The Masters watched the two young women leave the Council chambers, for a moment none of them spoke, and then the small impish master turned to the human. "You are deliberately antagonizing young Ravensong. Is this a cause for concern?"

"She is insolent, belligerent; she faces all challenges with levity and impudent sarcasm. When we reprogrammed her, I had thought Atris, Dorak and you Master Vandar to have erased of those undesirable traits. Yet they seem stronger than before."

Vandar gave a great sigh before he spoke. "She was made loyal to the Republic. She has no true memory of who she was. Personalities traits can be altered, but some tendencies are stronger than others. Bastila's objective to draw out her memories of how she amassed such formidable power is difficult enough without the added complications of you deliberately baiting her, Master Varook. Perhaps I was mistaken in believing that having had a similar discussion before, this matter was settled. Ravensong is not the Revanchist. Treating her as such will derail our agenda. Malak has Revan's amassed powers but none of her control or charisma or command. He was always a blunt instrument even when he was Alec to her refined finesse.

"He rampages; where Revan had at least seemed to have had a very concise plan. He attacks blindly the worlds Reven deliberately left alone. She preserved the infrastructure of core worlds, and even outer rim worlds like Onderon and no one knows why, not even Malak. The only one who does is locked up inside Ravensong's mind. We must tread careful. Already she doubts our words concerning the bond she shares with Bastlia.

"She needs to trust us, which will not happen if she is constantly bombarded with your memories of your previous encounters with Revan. And now Bastila struggles with heeding our wisdom. Bastila is young and an idealist, while these are not wholly undesirable traits in a young knight, it can become problematic in this situation. Bastila must draw out the memories of the Revanchist without drawing out the dark lord."

Having said his piece the diminutive Jedi Master left the chambers leaving his colleagues to contemplate and digest his words.

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"You're not asking me questions." Bastila said not even making the attempt to keep surprise from her voice.

"Why should I? Waste of effort, you'd only regurgitate whatever it is the Masters told you to tell me any way."

"Skye…I…we must trust in the Masters' wisdom. The Force allows them to see things we can not. They have the knowledge and experience…"

"And this makes them automatically correct? The old human…Vrook has an undeniable resentment for me. If you try and tell me I'm seeing something I'm not, then you truly are blind and naive or just plan stupid. I don't think you're any of those things."

"He…you remind him of Revan." Bastila admitted sullenly. "That much is true. Perhaps it has something to do with your species. But Skye, he is also correct in demanding our absolute best. Our perfection. We must rise to the challenge if we have any hope of defeating Malak and his former master's legacy."

"Seems like that bloody legacy is dogging me whether I like it or not. And let me tell you so far, I haven't liked it. If I didn't know better I'd say that old man and Onasi are blood."

"You really shouldn't call Master Vrook, old man. Skye, he deserves…"

"Respect? From me? Why? Because he's a Master of the Jedi Order or because he sits on the Council," Skye shook her head. "If you have to posture and chest pound to get respect, you don't deserve it. You know that. People like Master Vandar command that kind of respect. You want to be Vrook's little obedient puppet that's your choice, Princess. Look, let me be perfectly clear; I have no issue with the rest of the Council, just that old man- and he brought it on himself."

There was a small fraction within Bastila that completely understood Master Vrook's treatment of the Nagai. It was difficult to reconcile the woman standing beside her and the memories of the Dark Lord. "Perhaps we should focus on getting you settled."

The scout nodded. "Yeah. So me bunking with you, I know you can't be happy about that."

"It will be different."

"That's it? You have to give up your own private suite and you're okay with that?"

Bastila softly chuckled, "You know very little of Jedi life. As acolytes there are many of us within the dormitories. When we are selected as padawans, it is traditional that we share quarters with our masters. As knights we are often paired up with another knight because space is a rare commodity. Yes I have a single room, but it is not like I am unaccustomed to sharing living space. I assume much was the same within the monastery in which you were raised?"

"Yeah, all novices lived in chambers together, trained, ate and bathed. Same when you were raised up to acolyte and adept statuses. Only the first five top brother and sisters were given their own cells. And that was barely more than a cot, a footlocker and a work station."

"And again shared living space within the military."

Skye chuckled, "Too true. It's a wonder we ever find any kind of privacy."

"It can be found but perhaps it is more internally than external. As a Jedi you will learn the art of meditation, of being able to pull into your own mind, and block out all else. I suppose our meditative state is a kind of solipsism."

"Solipsism? I suppose that makes sense when you have no external privacy, the only real sort you have is within your own minds." For a moment Skye chewed over a few thoughts before she spoke. "And what about Force bonds? Doesn't that mess with the whole concept of solipsism?"

"It is…difficult. Believe me I do not find the prospect of being bonded to you enjoyable in the least."

"Gee thanks a lot."

"I…I didn't mean…"

"Mean what? Trust me Princess the feeling is more than mutual." snow flurries accompanied the Nagai's words.

The jedi sighed, "Perhaps then it is best we focus on the tasks put before us. In our mission to discover what was within those ruins we can find a way to sever the bond."

"Nothing would please me more. I'd rather be alone in here," she tapped her skull "than have you mucking around inside. And I don't like sharing my dreams or nightmares with you, or being apart of yours. Considering the first ones, I'd say I was pulled into your dreams about you killing the Dark Lord. You tell the Masters about those too?"

Bastila nodded. "They had to know. I was asked how deep the bond was when I told them about the dreams on Revan's bridge that we shared though at the time neither of us knew we were. I spoke of the race track and the flash you had after the conflict. And as you know I told them of the ruins. To keep things from the masters is ill advisable."

Skye smiled slyly. "So you tell them what _really_ happened to your lightsaber?"

"Some small details may have been…forgotten in the full narrative."

"Ah-huh. Right. So what did happen?

"Look we have arrived. Our rooms are right though here."

"You're not going to say are you?"

Bastila bit her lower lip and said nothing.

"You are a miserable cheat, you know that, right? Now I want to know more than ever."

"Some things are best left in the dark, especially when they are rather humiliating."

"Alright, alright you win." Skye held her hands up in the air in mock surrender. "I give up. Keep you're little Jedi secrets, Princess. Let's see this room of ours, then get my gear."

The quarters were modest as was to be expected. They were oddly enough not unlike the apartment room back on Taris. There were two beds, two work stations, complete with computer terminals for study. They each had a footlocker and a wardrobe.

"Homey." Skye quirked an eyebrow.

"As Jedi we are discouraged from having possessions. The only thing we can truly say is our own are the few robes we are given and our lightsabers. The robes we will see to shortly; the lightsaber comes when Master Zhar believes you are ready do construct your own."

"I was going to ask you, what's with the different color robes? Some are even wearing what looks to be chain mail. I get some of them are ranked, but some seem to have more significance than others."

"The colours represent the different sects…Schools of training and philosophy. Though not all Jedi prescribe to a specific philosophy. Most of us ware the traditional browns and whites. Others however have chosen to walk a specific philosophy, though they number in a very small minority."

"Okay, I'll probably be told all of this by Master Zhar or be told to research it, but why don't you give me a crash course?"

"The green robes come from the Jal Shey school. They seek to understand the nature of the Force. The armour carries an aura of dignity and competence. The Jel Shey concentrate on the intellectual study of the Force, seeking to understand it at a mental level rather than a spiritual one. They are typically exceptional diplomats, but are less successful in physical pursuits. They posses a strong understanding of the Force and are widely respected for their wisdom. When they reach the stage of mentorship they are unparalleled in their intellect and often serve as highly respected advisors and teachers.

Those that wear blue and purple robes come from the Zeison Sha school. They are known for their survival skills and resourcefulness. They favour the more flexible armours which are very durable. The school originally comes from the Outer Rim planet of Yanibar, where they developed their Force powers as a means of surviving the harsh planet. The Zeison Sha stress independence and survival as well as assistance to those in need. Many Guardians and Sentinels favour this path. The Zeison Sha warriors are powerful combatants who are particularly skilled in telekinetic Force powers.

"The green and black cloth robes are of the Matukai. They are masters at guiding their bodies with the Force. They are capable of astounding physical feats. They use their physical bodies to channel the Force. The balance of the physical and spiritual is a cornerstone of their philosophy.

"Those that wear all white, like Master Dorik have chosen to dedicate their lives to the Archives. Master Atris also wears the whites as do all the Keepers of the Hall of Knowledge in the Great Jedi Library."

Skye soaked it all in, categorizing the titbits of information in the unique filling system that was her brain. For a moment she felt a strange kin-ship to the mentioning of the Zeison Sha. In fact it seemed so familiar it was as if she had walked that path before but that of course was impossible. She had never heard of the Zeison Sha before today so how could their philosophy seem as familiar to her as the breath leaving her lungs?

Perhaps it wasn't Skye's familiarity but Bastila's. The bond! That blasted kriffing interfering bond. Had to be. "So you walk the way of the Zeison Sha?"

Bastlia shook her head. "I prescribe purely to the traditional teachings of the Order. Why do you ask?"

To this Skye frowned. "Just seemed like the Zeison Sha were…I don't know. It's like I know that way, like wearing the blue and purple armour is something I've done. But I haven't so I figured must have been you. Something carried over by the bond."

"No." Bastila was quick to school her concerned expression. "We are still touched by the memories of Revan and Malak. Revan…was of the Zeison Sha. Most say it was their philosophies that lead her to leave the Order and join the Mandalorian wars."

"Care to explain that one? I thought she left after Cathar was destroyed by the Mandis and the Order still refused to step in." Skye sat down on the bed that was to become hers.

"There was more of a catalyst long before that. Many masters believe it was the philosophy she walked. To the Zeison Sha, the Force is a means primarily to defend themselves and their families but also to aid others who could not defend themselves. As such, they were also known to be generous and aiding another was considered honorable and noble by them."

"And I take it this is a bad thing according to the Order?"

"On the surface no. But there is more beneath you do not know. You must understand Skye theses sects within the Order are…tolerated because they have been adapted and reengineered and amalgamated into the fundamental teachings of the Jedi. But they were not Jedi from the beginning, none of them were. The Jal Shey, the Zeison Sha, Matukai and even the Baran Do are all from other Force sensitive sentients. These philosophies in their true form, their pure form are other races' who do not belong to the Republic answers to the Jedi Order or to the Sith.

"Some of the schools of thought have bled into the Order. And rather than purge the ideologies out right they were adapted and integrated into the greater whole. They are accepted so long as the greater teachings of the Order are adhered to first and foremost."

"So these schools of thought are more like the bastard children of their truer original forms"

"Crude, but yes metaphorically speaking that is exactly what they are."

Skye nodded. "I wonder how much of a tither will I create, especially in that old man if I decided to go Zeison Sha."

"Skye…" Bastila blanched, her voice taking on a warning edge to it. "If you desire to follow a philosophy, do so because it is right for you, not to spite one man."

Ravensong stood up, "Believe me Princess. If I become a disciple of the Zeison Sha it will because I will it and for no other reason. So if it was the Zeison Sha that lead Revan and her disciples to make the decisions she made, to go to war, why then was the school allowed to continue within the Order?"

"Not all the Revanchist's were Zeison Sha. In fact, of all of them only two were- Revan and the Exile Metra Surik. You do not condemn an entire school of thought on the actions of one person or even a handful of individuals."

"Yeah, I guess it would be very hypocritical for the Masters to do that considering that whole thing with the Triumvirate. They slaughtered all their padawans and blamed on that poor schlep Zayne Carrick for the massacre."

Bastila opened her mouth and shut it with the snap of her teeth. "How…how do you know that?"

"I'm a very good scout." Skye responded causally. "Besides Carrick wasn't exactly quiet about the Masters using him and framing him for crimes not only did he _not _commit but tired to stop. And those Triumvirate Masters were not exactly a subtle bunch. But you're right, you can not judge or hold an entire faction accountable for the actions of a few. Judging the whole of the Council on the actions or words of an old bitter man isn't fair."

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"Wow!" Mission exclaimed running up to Skye as soon as she saw the elder woman coming into the enclave's landing platform. "You look great! Proper Jedi robes and everything." The girl held either side of the cowled outer robe and opened it. "Well almost everything. Where's your lightsaber?"

Ravensong brushed the enthusiastic teenager's hands away as she might have a younger sister's "I haven't earned the right to carry one."

"That day will come, Ravensong." Zalbaar said sagely. "A rite of passage; it is only proper a warrior must earn the privilege to carry such an honored weapon. I had to earn the right to carry my bowcaster."

"Yeah about that. Look guys I'm going to be here awhile in training. I know where Big Z goes you go Mission, and he swore a life debt to me, but it'll probably be months before I'm allowed off planet. If you guys want to catch a transport and go someplace, I won't hold you here."

"I made a promise, Ravensong. I stay where you stay." Zaalbar few words held the strength the durasteel.

"Yeah me too. Maybe not in the Jedi enclave but somewhere in the town proper. We can still sleep in the ship, right? The bunks aren't bad, better than the one I had with the Beks, anyway."

Skye nodded. "Of course you can still have your rack on the Hawk."

"Woohoo! It's gonna to be fun! I can't even remember seeing so much open space!" Mission's face was aglow with smiles. "I mean look at all that sky up there! It's soo blue! And they even have fluffy white clouds! Oh! I'll be able to see the all the stars. On Taris even at night it was so damn difficult to see the true night sky, all that light pollution, you know. And there aint never no fluffy white clouds. I want to feel real grass under my toes. Can I go swimming in a real lake, do you think? I've always wanted to do that. And all this clean air…" Mission took in a deep breath. "You can suck in the air and not hack up a kriffing lung from all the exhaust and crap in the Lower City. Plus no rakghouls climbing up from the Undercity! No gangers wantin' to rape you or shoot you, or shoot you then rape you. You, kidding me, Skye? I'm not gonna leave, I'm staying right here!" Mission was so excited she was actually bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet. "I can't wait to go see what's out there." She wrapped her arms around Skye and squeezed her hero for all she was worth.

Skye grinned at the true enthusiasm of the girl's wonderment and joy for simply being allowed the opportunity to experience the quaintness of a quiet world. She deftly slipped from Missions embrace and turned to the only other one on the near the Ebon Hawk.

"What about you Ordo? The blood oath was done the moment we touched safely down here. You are no longer bound by that promise."

"A'grow worlds were never my style. Mandalorians have never been the farming type." Canderous admitted. "But, you'll be jumping into the fray against the Sith soon enough."

"Yep."

"Might be I'll stick around for it. Might be I catch a transport; dabble in a few ports until you become a proper Jedi an' they let their leash off you. But when you're off to face that tin-jawed slimeo I'll be back for it."

"I won't be able to pay you."

"I keep what I kill."

"And that's good enough for you?"

"No. But it's a start. The opportunity to test myself, prove to be a true Mandalorian and not some hired gun. Now that….yeah….that'll be worth it. Facing Malak and the Sith- plenty of opportunities there."

"Alright then guess that settles that." Skye grinned.

"You didn't ask about Carth." Mission cocked her head playfully.

"He's military, I assumed he'd be reassigned to another ship and heading back out into the Black." In truth, until Mission spoke of him, Skye hadn't given the man much thought past his and Ordo's incarceration. Her concerns had lain with her unofficial wards, Big Z, Mission and the two freed slaves.

"You got it in one, whelp. He's been on the horn with your Republic Brass. No doubt spinning his version of events so they'll slip some sort of commendation in his file and give him a command of some dreadnought and place him back in the front lines."

"One can only hope."

"You really don't like him do you?" Mission asked.

"He has his uses, and I don't hate him. I just don't get along with guys like that."

"Guys like that?" the girl pressed.

"Always ready to blame anyone and everyone for the sins and betrayals of someone they once trusted. I have no issue with having a difficult time of earning trust, or if you really trust no one. But when you start ranting and raving and screaming out your paranoia of betrayal at every other sentient- now that's something entirely different."

"I nave no use for the whinny orange boy myself, Whelp. Crew better off without 'em. You, me that princess of yours can fly the ship. Don't know if the walking carpet can fly…"

Zalbaar snarled a deep throated warning.

"Ah, just because you can't understand him, doesn't mean Zalbaar can't understand you, Ordo. But it's a good question, can you pilot a ship Big Z?"

"I can." The wookie grunted. "Been known to remove unwanted refuse too."

Skye smiled.

"What he say?" the Mandalorian demanded.

"Said yeah he can fly."

"Lot of growing to just say yes." Ordo gave an accusing look to both of them.

The Nagia simply shrugged. "So hey, you see the twins? I've got good news for them."

"Ah yeah they were here about ten minutes ago then a human Jedi woman came and collected them, said they'll be starting work in a couple of days but they were going to be given quarters and a clinic room on a trial run." Mission explained.

"Good to hear." Skye grinned. "I'm sure they'll settle in in no time."

"Hey Skye not a lot of people would go outta their way to help Twi'lek slaves unless it's to get 'em between the sheets, so um, just thanks." Mission blushed.

"I keep my promises Mission." Skye waved off the complement feeling a little awkward at the accolades being showered upon her by the teenager. "Look, I have to get back. I'm all official now and I'm expected to report in soon. My classes start tomorrow."


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

"Skye the path you have chosen to walk is difficult. Intensive training will prepare you physically for the demands of the Order. Meditation will teach you to channel the powers of the Force. To truly understand the way of the Jedi you must open your mind to knowledge.

"A Jedi is never alone. Others in the Order will always stand by you. You and Bastlia share a special bond. Do not be afraid to turn to her should you need help in your training. The training of a Jedi is difficult. It requires great discipline and sacrifice.

"Let us begin."

Training had become intense. Skye was to put up her vibroblades and swords and take up the training saber which had the same weight and grip of a Jedi's traditional weapon. It did not have the same distinctive hum of a saber but had the same snap hiss when it struck another blade.

One of the first tests was to use the Force to sense the movement of an opponent, to stop their attack before it struck. She was given a troopers helmet with the blast-shield in place and ordered to block the stinging fire of a little training droid that floated about her programmed with an osculating random attack pattern. This, Skye thought, was very practical and a rather elementary teaching method. It forced her to rely on the Force and not the information given to her by deceitful eyes. One could never fully trust what the eyes saw, but the Force wasn't something so easily fooled.

At first, a few shots got though her defences. Sith's blood the little buggers could sting! Best way not to get shot wasn't a good offensive defence but not to be there when the enemy fired. It did not take her long to increase the number of training droids. She also found that she did better with an inverted hold on her saber which by the time she was up to five droids she was wielding twin blades just as if she were her familiar swords.

There were days when she felt as if she were playing a desperate game of catch-up and there were days when she felt she was out pacing her training. She excelled at saber-practice. But this wasn't a surprise after all Skye Ravensong grew up in a Nagai monastery. Her entire childhood was set in ritual and martial training. She simply had to adapt the styles and forms of her people to that of the Jedi.

There were seven styles or forms of lightsaber combat.

The first form the most basic of all of the forms but no less important nor when used correctly and efficiently it was very effective.

Form One, the Shii-Cho Form, was an extension of traditional sword-fighting styles, it retained the basics of attacks, parries, and body zones established by such ancient methods. Shii-Cho fostered an emotionally-heated mindset, which resulted in the considerable temptation to execute combat with lethal intent, requiring great restraint to exercise the form without going too far. Despite the pull to kill, the style was designed for the purpose of disarming without seriously injuring.

Ravensong found the Shii-Cho swordplay simplistic and raw. It was very similar what she had learned in the monastery. In the hands of a master, the bladework was described as 'like watching water flow over the falls.' However, less adept practitioners displayed much more basic and somewhat clumsy performance. In combat, Shi-Cho encouraged deliberate tactics, calling for continuous, step-by-step advancement while cutting off the opponent's angles.

Shii-Cho was specialized towards engaging multiple opponents, the wide, sweeping motions being ideally suited towards attacking numerous adversaries. As Ravensong soon found, Form I was not as useful against single opponents that had complete mobility. Having first attempted it within the sparring ring, Bastila easily exploited the weakness in Shii-Cho's comparatively clumsy bladework

The Form II or Makashi was logically the second style Ravensong explored. Makashi was described as elegant and focused, and was based on balance and footwork to outmaneuver opponents. Fluidity and economy of motion were relied on, rather than strength, with Form II bladework heavily utilizing jabs and light cuts rather than hack and slash movements. However, Makashi was not without its weaknesses, being ineffective against multiple opponents and failing to address the issue of blast-deflection. This was discovered during combat with the seven training droids the Nagai now employed to assist in her training.

She found the blade manipulation required for this form was very refined, requiring intense focus, and was described as elegant, powerful and precise, relying on feints to confuse and trap opponents. All of this was to allow the user to attack and defend with minimal effort, while opponents simply tired themselves out. Makashi also placed considerable emphasis on footwork, using it to maintain a proper distance from the opponent during defense and when moving in for an attack. The footwork of Makashi practitioners commonly followed a single line, front and back, shifting the feet to keep in perfect balance as the practitioner attacked and retreated. Makashi was a style based on balance, on back-and-forth charges, thrusts, and sudden retreats.

A flash of a dusty brown headed woman with brilliant blue eyes entered Ravensong's mind. This Jedi danced the fore with such perfection and agility it was a marvel to witness. But For the life of the young Nagai she new she had never seen this woman before. She held the face in her mind until it was solid, the name came then; a phantom of what was. Meetra Surik. Yes that was it. Surik was master of this form.

For a moment Ravensong wondered to herself how she chanced upon this bit a trivia when it occurred to the scout she must have read it in the archive data-bases when she looked up the history of each form and the more noteworthy practitioners of them. Bastila also seemed to favor this form. She was exceptional student, nay master of the style and a beauty to witness as she went though the katas.

It was the third form: the Soresu that Ravensong felt very comfortable with.

The Soresu form was devised to counter the wide-spread emergence of blasters, one that Makashi wasn't equipped to combat. The pragmatic Form III became the most defensive of the seven forms, and utilized tight moves, consisting of subtle dodges and efficient parries, intended to provide maximum defensive coverage, and minimize exposure to ranged fire. Over time, Form III came to transcend this basic and pragmatic origin, and became an expression of non-aggressive Jedi philosophy.

Once more it was as if Ravensong's muscles had a memory all of their own. Soresu utilized tight motions; the lightsaber moving every second in an attempt to achieve near-total protection and expend as little energy in the process. Form III stressed quick reflexes and fast positional transition, in order to overcome the rapidity with which a blaster could be fired. This technique minimized the body's exposure, making a well-trained practitioner practically invincible, which allowed Soresu to be effective against both single enemies and multiple opponents, as well as blasters and lightsabers. Form III involved preparation for prolonged battles where the user observed and learned as much as possible about their adversary's technique while engaged in combat. Also, being more optimized for lengthy battles, a Soresu user had the ability to gain control of a combat situation, creating multiple options for the Jedi employing the form.

Like Makashi, Soresu relied on economy of motion and energy efficiency, keeping up constant blade-movement to build up momentum and minimize energy-expenditure. Form III focused on strong defensive technique to essentially outlast an opponent, waiting until he began making mistakes due to frustration or fatigue, before taking advantage of these lapses and countering. A master of Soresu was considered invincible, and the focus on long-term survival allowed such duelists to take stock of and control of their situation. However, despite its effectiveness, Soresu would receive heavy criticism due to its lack of offensive capabilities, as it merely facilitated survival rather than victory. As an answer to these weaknesses, the highly aggressive Ataru and Shien were developed side-by-side.

Once more Skye imagined Meetra dancing upon the field of battle using this technique along side…Revan. The two were fighting side by side. Revan was particularly adapt at this style as she was of the forth form. A form that Ravensong excelled for it was identical to Way of the Hawk-bat which she had learned at the monastery.

An aggressive style, Form IV was fast-paced and effective against single opponents, though weaker in prolonged combat and confined spaces. It was also was not recommended for use against opponents wielding blasters. Ataru was characterized by Force-assisted acrobatics, such as somersaults and leaping strikes, both for attack and defense. Another characteristic of the form was its fast, powerful strikes from multiple directions Practitioners of Ataru were always on the offensive, attacking with wide, fast, and powerful swings. Form IV practitioners constantly called upon the Force to aid in their movements and attacks. By allowing the Force to flow throughout their body, they could overcome their physical limitations including old age, as was the case with Master Vandar. Those who used Ataru performed amazing feats of acrobatics, such as somersaults and backflips, not only for attack, but also to evade the slashes and strikes of their opponents.

This was the Form that most practitioners of the Zeison Sha philosophy adapted.

Indeed it was Master Vandar also of the Zeison Sha School that saw Skye's natural affinity for this form and gave her instruction on the basics. He instructed her that Jedi utilizing Ataru needed to incorporate all the Force powers that involved surpassing normal physical ranges of motion, speed, and agility in order to be successful. Running, jumping, and spinning were all emphasized in learning the elaborate kinetics of the form

Those who used Form IV could move at high speeds and could rain strong blows, jumping and attacking through the air. Powerful and quick spinning attacks could be utilized from all angles, either from ground or air. A master in Ataru combat could appear like a blur to their opponents, attacking from all directions—the front, the sides, overhead, or behind. The Force not only allowed them to perform athletic feats not possible otherwise, but it also helped guide their actions and movements in combat.

Sky was quickly favoring this form above all others, even her salmon leap shoulder technique worked exceptionally well with it.

Form V was almost two separate forms that followed along parallel lines. The first was Shien, considered the classical Form V, was more adept at blocking blaster bolts. Whereas Djem So the second aspect of the Form was developed later and intended for lightsaber combat.

The two-tier Form was created by Form III: Soresu masters who desired a more offensive style, since the defensive nature of Form III often led to prolonged combat, which was dangerous for the practitioners. Form V evolved into an accepted style by combining the defensive maneuvers of Form III with the more aggressive philosophy and tactics of the Makashi.

Form V required a higher level of physical strength than the other lightsaber forms due to its focus on complete domination of its practitioners' opponents It was considered the most physically demanding of all the forms. Zeison Sha leaned toward this form as well. Skye found she rather enjoyed the challenge of it, of it demands. Both Shien and Djem So were designed to use an opponent's attack against them, as evidenced by Shien's focus on returning blaster bolts to their origin and Djem So's emphasis on immediately striking back after a blow.

Through Bastila's insight, Skye learned that some Jedi felt that Form V encouraged aggression and domination, that sentiment did not stop many Jedi from practicing the Form. Most of those of the Zeison Sha School were highly trained in its use and Skye completely understood why. Along with Ataru, Ravensong felt more at home, more at ease with this form than the others.

Bastila however favored the sixth form also known as Niman. It was sometimes called the Moderation Form or even the Way of the Rancor. This fighting style was a hybrid martial art created by effectively combining elements of all the preceding lightsaber forms into a single generalized form.

Niman balanced out between the various specializations of the other forms, covering many of the basic moves, but focusing on overall moderation. This resulted in a fighting style that lacked a significant advantage, but also lacking any serious drawbacks, and thereby not leaving adherents as exposed as some of the more aggressive or specialized forms. Overall, Niman had a fairly relaxed focus on bladework, designed as a simple, easily mastered fighting form for Jedi.

As a Sentinel, Bastila was the balance between the more warrior aspects of the Guardians and the Councilors who preferred to devote most of their time to study and diplomacy, though it was absolutely deadly in the hands of a skilled practitioner, as demonstrated by such notable jedi such as Exar Kun.

To compensate for the relaxed focus on bladework and lack of significant specialization, Niman training regimens encouraged the inclusion of Force-based attacks in combat, such as telekinetic pulls and shove in sync with lightsaber strikes. Also, as Niman was developed from two pre-existing martial arts fighting forms that both emphasized the use of dual-blades, it provided a firm foundation for duelists looking to study into such practices. Ultimately, Niman's success in combat was dependent on a practitioner's intuition and creativity in combat.

The last of the forms called Juyo was described as the most vicious form of lightsaber combat and was said to be filled with both fury and 'malignant grace.' The form was given the title of the most difficult and demanding form in all of saber combat. It wasn't surprising to Skye that the one most skilled in this style was Master Vrook.

By the orders of Grand Master Vandar he gave Ravensong instruction in it, telling her rather gruffly that he'd only show her once, so she had better pay attention. But it was what he said latter that stuck with Ravensong. Vrook commented that Juyo was "to eviscerate a lone enemy." According to the notes the scout had read left by former Master Kreia the form was both chaotic and erratic, with a heavy focus on offense.

It was also the most controversial of the forms amongst the Jedi Order, as many felt that Juyo violated the "there is no emotion, there is peace" tenet of the Jedi Code due to its requirement to fight under the guidance of controlled passion. The Sith had no such inhibition. In the documents Skye read about the history of the Forms she discovered Master Kreia went so far as to label it a Sith style. It has been described as the most vicious form of lightsaber combat and was said to involve significant internal focus on the part of the user.

It was less elaborate than Ataru but held more, direct motions and was more open and kinetic than the two-tier Form V Shien /Djem So. It had the strength of being unpredictable with seemingly unconnected staccato sequences. The form was said to necessitate greater energy than Form V, due to a broader wielding of a user's focus and a deeper emotional link. Despite the challenges inherent in the use of the form, it could serve as a pathway to considerable power.

During her research Ravensong uncovered that Vrook Lamar wasn't the only notable practitioner, others included Masters Kavar and Zez-Kai Ell both of whom sat on the Jedi Council. Was it strange or typical that three of the Jedi Council courted such a dangerous style?

Skye knew Kavar only by name both by reputation and records within the archives, as he had gone off to fight very early in the Mandalorian wars. He had been Meetra Surik's informal master prior to his 'defection.' Ravensong had to wonder why he was still on the Council when Surik who had done the same as he had been Exiled? To be fair the Council had not yet forbidden anyone to join the cause officially, only when Reven pushed the issue had they made such a decree.

Still it struck the young Nagai with hypocrisy that Kavar was allowed and welcomed back into the fold of the Jedi Order but one of their most promising and talented Knights was not. Guess it was good to be the Council.

Of Zez-Kai Ell she knew little, only that he sat on the Council and had a rougher scruffier demeanor than what one would expect in a Master let alone one who sat on the Council.

Of the three Skye knew Vrook far better though she wished she hadn't. To her he seemed a bigoted delusional paranoid and a right pompous ass.

Looking at it this way-a rouge hypocrite, a scruffy cynic and pompous ass it wasn't all that surprising the three of them danced around the edges of the dark side with their devotion to the Juyo Form.

Skye continued to hone her abilities in Arturo, Makashi, Soresu and Shien / Djem So, though it was the later that the Nagai truly excelled.

"You now by dedicating yourself to the learning of these four forms you will be master of none of them." Bastila sagely warned one afternoon while watching her bond-mate go though the Makashi dance. It frightened her how quickly Skye was adapting… remembering.

"Oh I don't know. I seem to recall reading that a certain Nagai was quite capable of mastering these same four."

Bastila shifted in the grass, seemingly removing a stone she was sitting upon. "Skye… modeling your training after Revan is… not wise."

"But who was it that taught Reven? It was Master Zhar and Dorik who picked up the pieces after Kreia. Who is then doing the molding of not Zhar and the chronicler?"

"That argument is a razor's edge."

"You're missing my point, Princess."

"Which is?" Bastila picked a blade of grass and held it between her fingers.

"There is no chaos there is harmony."

"The Code?" Bastila started to tear the blade in twain. "You are quoting me the Code?"

With a cocky grin Skye switched from in mid-leap from Makashi to Arturo. She went into the kata instead of executing the finishing move then just as suddenly she spun into a magnificent butterfly kick of Shien / Djem So then back again into a Makashi finishing maneuver.

Panting and glistening with sweat, Skye fell to her back side near Bastila. "But I say harmony can not be achieved without fluid adaptability." Her cocky grin came back as she took a bottle of water near their resting spot and drank greedily from it. "I don't need to be a master of each form as long as I master the ability to switch from one to the other perfectly. That will be my advantage."

"That has its merits Skye, but being able to perfectly switch from form to form will do you little good in combat if you are not proficient in them. All you are left with is a very beautiful martial dance what will leave you dead."

"This is why I intend on becoming proficient in all four." Skye took another long dreg of her water before wearily climbing back to her feet. With drawing her training saber Ravensong turned to T3-M4 who had followed them to the grassy knoll of the enclave's gardens. "Teethree, begin recording." she commanded and started to go through her routine.

She'd go through each maneuver one thousand times, a customary and regular regiment for Padawans. Their katas recorded so they might show their masters and have their flaws pointed out and corrected. It was expected that once shown the flaw it not be repeated.

After Skye's second run, Bastila decided to join her Padawan companion in her own dance switching from Niman to Shii-Cho. Her ego would not allow her to sit idle while Skye perfected her command over the forms.

Skye's mental training was no less intensive. Using the Force in martial combat was one thing, to use and understand its power was another. It was during their sparring matches that Bastila discovered that Ravensong wielded the gift of battle precognition. It was a variant of precognition that allowed one to sense the flows of the Force and allowed Skye to anticipate others' actions when engaged in a fight. This gift simply hadn't manifested, it now simply had a name. Ravensong, without knowing it, had been using it on Taris when she was in the area as the Mysterious Stranger. She also used the Force to augment her physical strength, speed and perform various acrobatic feats.

Ravensong could also use the Force to create a whirlwind of Force energy to overwhelm his opponents. Furthermore, Ravensong was adept in the use of the saber throw technique and used this ability to cut down multiple opponents simultaneously from a distance.

Skye also was quite adept at Floating Meditation. Something Bastila did during Battle Meditation but something she normally did during her meditative states. More than once Shan came into their shared quarts to find chairs, datapads and the young Nagai floating several inches off the ground. Ravensong's use of telekinesis was no less impressive.

She had moved on from staking stones while standing on one hand to more complex and intricate and delicate uses. She was able to move heavy objects simultaneously with mere gestures. She could also hurl heavy objects as missiles towards her targets. More than a few practice droids and dummies were obliterated by her practice. Of the droids, she would repair or reconstruct as necessary.

One such day Bastila was once more spending time with her, mentoring Skye on the history of ancient masters, their successes and their failures. The Nagai insisted this lesson take place as she was repairing one of the training droids to be more resilient to lower yields of kenetic force such as boulders flying at it.

Bastila put down the pad she was reading from and watched skilled knowing hands work their magic on the inertial workings of the droid.

"I didn't know you were that skilled with machinery." she said, her voice soft and filled with past memories of watching someone else do the same thing ages ago.

"Meh, I like to do it. It isn't good to be so controlled by the Force and its effects on you that without it you're no good at the rest of life. Look, before I was awakened to what I can do with the Force I went about my entire life doing things the mundane way. Now, I can walk over to that bench and pick up the spanner I need or I can do this." she stretched out her hand and the spanner came fling at her. Skye caught it deftly and smiled. "Takes energy to do either one. Energy is energy no matter the form. But what if you, my dear Princess, having lived your entire life with the Force- did not have it. What would you do? Look back to your time on Taris with the Vulkars.

"Could you have escaped earlier if you were able to think outside the use of the Force? Yes, the Force sustained you even drained as you were, but had you…" here Skye blushed a bit, "a bit more imagination you might have succeeded. Maybe I'm wrong but I see that in Jedi training and most likely that of the Sith dark knights is that they lack the imagination and will to do anything in the mundane, thus they are ill equipped to deal with it when it comes."

Skye didn't say her views on emotion or why she thought Jedi fell because of them. Being told so often and in many cases when they were so young that there is no emotion Jedi were ill-equipped to deal with strong emotions which was why they succumbed. If they were to embrace emotion and taught to control them rather than surpass them, the Jedi would be far stronger for it. Love didn't always lead to passion or jealousy, in fact Skye firmly believed love and its expression lead to redemption.

She turned her thoughts back on the point she was trying to make with her bondmate. "What would the master do, if they were suddenly cut off? Would they be as skilled as they are now or would they be lacking so severely that an ordinary child would be more proficient at living life? Find something Bastila, to do as a mundanely as possible, something that takes skill and knowledge and energy but not the Force. For me it's the world of mechanics."

"I… I don't have anything like that." Bastila said. She felt as if she were somehow lacking. Ravensong was right; she had been ill-equipped on Taris to break out of the Vulkar prison on her own. Nor did she have the imagination to see beyond what the Masters had taught her. She recalled as a child she used to travel with her father across the galaxy explore and unravel puzzles during his adventurous treasure hunts before her mother forced her away from her father and sent her to the Jedi.

"When I was a little girl I used to love solving puzzles of logic and riddles. I was quite good at them. I helped my father more than once during one of his excavations."

Skye pulled her head up from the bowled of the droid she was working on. "Excavations? Your father is an archeologist?"

"I'd say tomb raider would be the more apt term."

"Oh, a treasure hunter." Skye smiled.

"Only because my mother insisted on it." there was spite in Shan's voice. "I shared a loving and powerful relationship with my father. But even as a child I saw my mother for what she was. She was always pushing Father for the next dangerous hunt- all so we could live in wealth on Talravin. I am not on good terms with her."

"I take it your not in contact with her or your father now?" Skye probed.

"Such connections are frowned upon by the Council." Bastila's grey eyes took on a remorseful look to them. "We are encouraged to server all ties, to have no attachments for such tings can lead to the dark side."

Skye smiled inwardly this was the unvoiced point she was making earlier. Jedi younglings were conditioned to shy away from emotions, block them out and repress them. That condition went so far as to indoctrinate a sense of near fear of having emotions because emotions are all dark side. BAH! What foolishness. How utterly idiotic to believe that repression was ever a good thing. No wonder Jedi were leaving in droves. Hell if allowed to express emotions normally there would be fewer Jedi defections. Some left the Order, no doubt just to be able to feel. It was a complete load of bantha poodoo.

"Only if you let it, but if you bend your emotions to your will, they can be a good strength." Skye voiced a paraphrased version of her thoughts. "In fact those emotions such as love, compassion and friendship will make a Jedi's connection to the Force and to the light side stronger."

"Those are heretical thoughts." Bastila said grimly.

"Yes well I'm a new convert so bear with me." Skye flashed another dashing smile. A smile that earned her an exasperated sigh from the knight before she left the enclave's maintenance bay.

KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR

It was that conversation as well as the week's earlier one on the knoll that had Bastila profoundly worried. Scheduled to rendezvous with the Council concerning Ravensong's on-going training and her connection, Bastila sized the opportunity to relay those concerns.

"She shows astounding command over the Force." Zhar said was he was seated with four of the masters along with Bastila around the conference table. Represented by holographs were Atris, Kavar and Zez-Kai Ell as well as Master Lonna Vash.

"Just as Reven did, Skye has an incredible Force sense ability. With a bit of guidance I have no doubt she will be able to sense the presence of another Force-user across the span of the entire galaxy. Not only that, she is adept at using the Force to directly heal her wounds without seeking medical attention. Revan also possessed the ability to resist the effects of poisons and drugs used in the conditioning trials.

"Her ability to Push, Grip and even Crush is noteworthy. Clearly that area of her mind is reasserting itself, and her body is remembering its former connection to the Force."

"Yes I have seen this too." Vandar said. "I witnessed her continual training in the four forms that Revan favored. Her body is recalling the moves almost without effort."

"And what if she recalls using the other darker arts of the Force? The wounding and choking of her enemies; manipulating their will, even stealing their vital life essence and their connection to the Force to fuel her own body. Force lighting and mind-probing to the extent of ripping information from a victim. Using the mind-trick is one thing but to completely manipulate another's will is all together another and the Dark Lord was extremely good at that." Vrook cautioned vehemently. "Revan could psychologically manipulate her opponents to use them as tools for her plans. What is to stop her mind from recalling these powers as well?"

"Bastila from your bond with her, do you sense any predilection for her former identity as the Dark Lord or her former darker use of the Force?"

"No…" the young woman started. "But there is a hesitancy to fully conform to the Code or our ideology." Bastila retold her conversation she held with Ravensong in the droid bay as well as the day's prior conversation on the gray knoll.

"These are not the wonderings of a former Dark Lord." Dorik waved the concern away. "But those of a young fully grown woman suddenly thrust into a very unfamiliar world of Jedi philosophy. But do we see the truth, or the patterns we are inventing?" the chronicler looked over to Vrook and Atris.

"And what is it in the archives she is so diligently studying if not the same texts Revan did? At the time you put her insatiable curiosity down to the thirst for knowledge and understanding, but we now know the truth. Once again she is studying those exact same texts- will you so cavalierly dismiss this as well?" Atris via a holographic interface challenged. "And what of her induction into the Zeison Sha?"

"It is true." Vandar said. "I condoned it. Her exuberance and talents will be contained and directed with the schooling of the Zeison Sha."

"Just like Revan." Atris scoffed. "That was foolish, Grand Master. Too great of a gamble."

"This requires mindful eyes." Lonna said. "Revan was always willful, with an extreme charismatic and dominating personality. This time we have the chance to change the course of the river, as it were. Bastila use all the influence you have personally and thought the bond you share with her to insure Ravensong remains in command of her mind and body. But be mindful not to be drawn in into her charms as so many had in the past. "

"I have been placing all my strength into this Master Vash." Bastila said. "So far I have not sensed the darkness of her former self. It is a difficult challenge at times to see Skye Ravensong as the person she is and not the Dark Lord and all the atrocities and betrayals she committed. I find myself constantly at odds with my own thoughts."

"This is still a dangerous game, but there is a necessity in it. More and more worlds are falling to Malak and his dark Jedi. Korriban has a flagrant call for anyone who is Force sensitive. Their propaganda which was seemingly written a year ago by Revan is particular effective." Kavar's hologram said

"It is a desperate need to understand how and where Malak has amassed such power. That begins with what Revan uncovered in those tombs. How soon will it be before Ravensong is ready?" Zez-Kai Ell asked.

"Shortly, within the week. I will have her perform two of the final tests of neonate to full padawan. One to will confront challenge the dark side and two the construction of her own lightsaber. After that she and Bastila will be sent into the ruins." Zhar answered.

KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR

Days spread into weeks. Weeks into months. Each day that passed Ravensong was growing more and more into her power. Soon it would be time to venture into the ruins. Zhar had stated as such. It wasn't Skye's upcoming tests to become a true padawan that trouble her thought. It was the ruins. What was there? The dreams became more and more frequent as if to relay the urgency to uncover the hidden truth behind the Jedi secrets.

"You seem troubled." Bastila offered to Skye as she approached the older woman who had been or at least seemed to have been meditating under the boughs of the great tree in the courtyard of the enclave.

The Nagai nodded, "I want to talk to you about this dream—the one with Revan and Malak not… not the others."

"The others?"

"I told you of them," came the flat answer. "You and Revan. It's this new dream; Revan at the ancient tomb that haunts me."

"It was less of a dream and more of a vision. A vision the two of us shared, but I'm certainly willing to answer any questions the Jedi Council did not."

"I don't think they can answer my questions on this. They can not understand."

"Are you certain of that Skye?"

Blue eyes met grey. "Only you and I can, Bastila. You can't tell someone what sweet tastes like if they have never tasted such. Can you tell someone born to blindness what the color blue is?"

"Yes. I see your reasoning. They can not answer that which they have not experienced."

The black haired woman nodded. "So why do you think we dreamed of Revan and Malak?"

"Perhaps because we desired to," offered Bastila.

Skye's eyebrows shot up in surprise at the answer given to her by the younger Jedi

"Or perhaps because it's this planet and because they were strong enough in the Force to leave a… a trace."

"What do you mean a trace?" Skye said.

Her voice betrayed her uncertainty, yet still Bastila attempted to put into words what it was what the Council had explained to her when she had put such questions to them. "They did something important here, of that I can be certain, it maybe simply that we are sensitive to that event." Bastila thought of her confrontation with Revan aboard the Dark Lord's bridge. She thought further of who Revan was before the Mandalorian Wars. The pain of those memories lingered still in Bastila's heart. "Or not." She finished her thought. "We dreamed about Revan and Malak either because we were meant to or because we needed to. There _is_ no other way to look at it."

"What do you think Revan and Malak were doing?"

_That _was the question of the millennia. It was the very reason, the task Bastila had been commanded by the wisdom of the Jedi Council to discover. Why she had to agree to the commands of the Council despite her misgivings that their plan was a fool's errand. "I have no idea." Yet her tone would have said otherwise for all its defensiveness. "It was obviously important enough however. That is why we must investigate this further."

Skye had picked up on Bastila's too quick denial of what she knew about the visions. Nevertheless the Nagai decided to play this game of dajjat. "I still don't understand why we shared this vision. Bastila you knew them, I did not. Of all the Jedi and padawans here why me? I was nothing more than a scout to you until this bond united us."

"It is as the Masters have said; you are Force sensitive and our bound formed in a time of great need. I…I have to tell you that I felt you during your race on Taris. Whether you intended to or not, or you knew or not you used the Force in that race. Because of it I was able to cipher the wildness of your connection to the Force overcome the nurolizer."

"Ha see now you do admit I rescued you." Skye chuckled.

"I already conceded it was you that did."

"Oh but you were humouring me back then and you said as much. But not for my Force sensitively and tapping into it you'd not have been able to get that collar off or you'd have done it long before that fight ever broke out."

Bastila nodded. "Skye, our connection was formed in great need." Bastila repeated her earlier remark. "Your connection is wild and untamed, gone without training it would become a storm- a tidal wave of chaos. I felt it when we first met. That battle on the swoop track, seeing you fight and your slaying of Brejik brought forward my memories of my own battle with Revan. As I said it was an intense memory. Maybe it's because both of you are Nagai and the control you have to the Force is strong. The Sith would have come to either silence it or recruit you, just as the governor had attempted on Taris."

"If I hadn't agreed to this training I am positive the Jedi would have 'silenced' it as well. Surely that is Master Vrook's desire. I feel his hate of me. Perhaps he, like you, doesn't see another Nagai Force wielder, but a Dark Jedi."

"No! I don't see that…" Bastila started to deny but the Bond would tell Skye she was lying. "Skye, I can only repeat what the Council told us. Our fates are linked and for two as strong as we are in the Force that amounts to a near physical bond." There it was, the sound of near regret in Bastila's voice. "As for your second question I truly have no answer for you, Skye. The Force works as it wills. Perhaps we should be grateful we have our Bond." It seemed those last words were but the echo of someone else's and repeated by rote. It was as if Bastila was attempting to convince Skye that the bond formed between them was something of a blessing and not a curse.

"But how did our fates become linked?" Skye pressed.

Bastila carried the look as if she knew the answer to that question, about to give the answer and thought better of it. For a moment it seemed she heard the whispers of warning from the Masters in her ears. What she was going to say died before her lips even formed the first syllable. Realizing Skye was still looking to her for an answer, the words tumbled clumsily out. "I... I… don't know." Unknowingly she repeated the words she had said months ago. "Believe me, I certainly don't find the prospect of being bonded to you enjoyable in any fashion."

Skye glared at the Jedi, snapping to her feet she moved off from the tree "Yeah you said _that_ before Princess. I got it then; you didn't have to throw that kriffing mess back at me..." She moved for the doors that led to the library grumbling something about 'the feeling being mutual Princess,' leaving Bastila to stare after her.

Suddenly shaken from the sudden chill coming off of the Nagai, Bastila bolted after the slightly older padawan. "Skye, please! I didn't mean it like that… that I found you somehow repulsive in any sense of the word."

Skye spun around her blue eyes frozen, "No? I think you are _very_ clear how you feel about me, _Princess_. Enough to repeat your words."

"No… no please… Skye. I am sorry I have hurt you. I meant that we share something so personal it's just not something I'm used to."

"Think I am? Look maybe it's just best we solve this kriffing crisis, the whole fate of the galaxy thing as quickly as possible. After that we find a way to sever this flaming bond when the opportunity presents itself and go our separate ways. I know exactly where I rate in yours and Carth's books. Both of you made it abundantly clear my help is accepted out of dire straits and done so reluctantly. I am not fracking Saul Karath, but I am being punished by Carth for all of that frilling man's crimes. I am not some Dark Lord of your past Bastila! We might be of the same race but I'm Ravensong not Revan!

"I am a scout come padawan and done so because I'd rather be trained as a Jedi then have some Jedi Master or a group of them rape my mind to rip the Force from me because my connection is wild and untamed. I was recruited by the Republic from the Nagai monastery to become a scout and they have my unyielding loyalty. Unwavering loyalty! I served the Jedi as a scout on behest of the Council, I did my duty. So I wonder who really is repulsive here, Princess. Who is the one NOT to be trusted?

"By the Night Mother, I know exactly where I stand and will always stand with Mission, Zaalbar and frack even Canderous. At least the Mandalorian is honest with me and himself about how he views me. Odd, I even have that old Mandy's respect, but you two…" Skye let out a sigh. "Nevermind… I might as well try and convince the tide not to come in than try and prove I'm not Saul Karath or Revan."

Once more Bastila reached out to the hurt woman. "Skye… I know… I know I have taken for granted all the years of training I have had. You are so talented Skye, Master Zhar is right, it took you weeks to master techniques, skills and abilities and powers that had take others years to develop and accomplish. It's almost frightening… I've never been so close to anyone that powerful and with so little training and learning…"

"Yeah you told me, you don't fancy it in any sense of the word. I understood you the first time you said that to me when I first came here, _Jedi._ I need to put some distance and time between us Bastila, before I pull a '_Spoiled Prince_ss' and put my foot in my mouth and cut you down unintentionally. Words may not be enough to turn someone from the dark side but they can destroy like it." Skye pulled the hood of her robes up over her head and left Bastila alone with her thoughts and regrets.

Carth, not privy to the recent argument, watched as Bastila and Skye emerged from inner most chamber of the Enclave. Their faces marked with the same expression he had seen on countless leaders aboard starships just before they were implementing a plan to engage the enemy. He knew this had to do with those damn ruins and what they supposed to find found there. How was ancient Jedi crypts supposed to win them the war? Especially if it was the start of how Revan and Malak fell? All they needed now was another Nagai Dark Lord and her apprentice storming the galaxy.

It was a bunch of Jedi mumbo-jumbo and ancient superstitions. The Force hadn't helped them conjure up a way to destroy Malak or stop his rampage across the stars. To top it all off, Ravensong was a flaming Padawan. No not yet, she was only a neophyte, she had to have a great deal of training to even be equal to Bastila yet the Council said that the Nagai was instrumental in stopping Malak. It was insane!

Skye walked away from her companion heading for the corridor leading back outside, no doubt she was heading back to the archives. Ravensong spent as much time in the archives as she did in the martial training arenas of the academy. Bastila remained near the Great Oak as she often had during the weeks of training Ravensong had undergone. It was as if Bastila needed more and more time to center herself from the hurricane of energy Ravensong brought with her.

"You've been abnormally quiet lately," Bastila said as Carth approached her. She had sensed his presences- no not his presences- his anger and frustration were ebbing off of him like the stink off of a three day old kath-hound killed carcass.

"Have I been? I suppose I have. I just don't like being left out of the loop."

With her face still turn away from the pilot, Bastlia hid a playful smirk thinking of what Skye might have said. 'You were born out of the loop.' She almost laughed at the idea of saying it aloud. Instead she opted for a more reined answer; a more dignified response. "I'm not leaving you out of the loop, Carth."

"No?" Carth grabbed Bastila by the arm and swung her around to face him. His mouth worked into a sneer. "You sure haven't been helping matters either. I would have said this to Ravensong but she's scuttled away to who in the kriff knows where, so you will do. She'd be just as elusive and less helpful. And it's really starting to irritate me."

'Irritate you? Skye's right I've about had it with your attitude.'

Carth's rant continued. "For one thing I want to know what the Jedi said to Ravensong! They pulled her in there and refused to tell me about it!"

"That is not your concern Carth, you would do well to leave the matter be." Bastila warned yanking her arm free.

"I respect you, Bastila. But you've been as closed mouthed as the rest of the Council. If you won't talk to me then maybe someone else will."

"You dare threaten the Jedi Council's decrees concerning one of their own? Skye Ravensong isn't under your command, she never was. She was with MY contingent, MY team, MY command. And when she became an apprentice to the Order she stopped being under the command of the Republic military. Would you ask her to forsake her oath just to satisfy your need to be 'in the loop' Commander Onasi? Would you ask her to disobey a direct order from the Council itself? I will remind you it is none of your business."

"None of my business?" Carth's anger was roused and would not be stilled. "Am I not a part of this mission? The Jedi maybe in charge, but I am risking all the same things you are."

"Is that your point? Aren't we all apart of this together?" Bastila asked him.

"Are we? Why doesn't it seem like the Jedi know everything and leave the rest of us out in the cold? Ravensong is a neophyte Padawan saddled with the responsibility of tracking down the source of Malak's colossal fleet. Why? That's not normal!"

"Leave her alone Onasi." Ravensong's voice came from the darkness of the alcove that led from left branch corridor. Her voice cold, hard, and commanding. Bastila shuddered to hear it, for it was the voice not of the woman she knew but of Darth Revan. "Now."

Even Carth took a step back. He watched as Skye came out of the dark, her Zeison Sha blue robes flaring out about her body as great wings as she walked towards them. Skye felt Bastila's unrest and a flash of anger through the bond that linked them. It could only be Canderous or Onasi that could have caused such a reaction. She didn't hesitate to turn from her path to the Archives and go back to the courtyard. She was right; it had been Carth Onasi that had stimulated such ire from Bastila.

"Be mindful of who you speak to." Skye warned darkly stepping near her bond-mate.

"I'm not trying to provoke you. Either of you." Carth was defensive.

"That is something you never have to try Onasi, it is a natural gift to you. Are we responsible for the commands of our superiors?" she pushed back the hood so he might see her face.

"No, I'm not saying you are responsible for the Jedi Council, Skye, but give me a hand here. There has to be a reason." Carth knew his tone had been sharp accusatory and that had been the wrong tactic to go with. Women, in his experience rallied against harsh tones, his wife always had. And Jedi women were worse.

"Are you saying I'm not needed?" Skye put to him coldly. Bastila could feel the internal struggle that took the older woman. Her anger rose sharp, frozen and burning. She could feel the desire in Skye to send this man flying across the courtyard with by a powerful wave of the Force.

"NO!" Carth was shaken the question had been asked. He was either blind or ignorant not to see just how close he was in provoking the Nagai. "I didn't… I didn't meat that you were unwanted, or that I don't want to go! Just, damn it! I'll tell you this much, I am not going to wait around and be betrayed again."

Rocks beneath Bastila's feet shook with the rage burring off of Ravensong. She was containing her anger and sending it harmlessly in the earth beneath her, lest she strike out. All Jedi in the courtyard turned towards the disturbance they felt. Knight Beyla and Mater Quatra were near as were masters Vrook and Vandar. All seemed to be waiting to see what would unfold. There wasn't a sentient in the courtyard that had not heard or been aware of Onasi's tantrum.

"AUGH! I am not going to betray you or the Order! I am not Saul!"

"Oh yeah, we'll see about that!"

'_There is no emotion, there is peace.'_ The thought entered Bastila's mind but it was said in Skye's voice. Skye retreated back into the codes of the Order with a fierce desperation to retain control over her aggression. "Then quit. Go back to the Fleet, Commander Onasi. I can fly a frigate and so can Canderous and Bastila."

Carth suddenly seemed to realize that he had attracted a fair number of Jedi around him- all of them staring coolly at him as if he had just danced around the Great Oak, drunk off of juma juice and high from chewing spice and decided to piss on the tree of meditation in his stupor.

"Look I didn't mean it that way. Or that I want to quit. No… no… forget it. It seems all I can do is insult you, isn't it? Just forget I said anything."

"So the fact you can insult me is my fault too? Forget what you said? No, I don't think so. You pulled that one too many times on Taris. You get derogatory of me when things don't go according to plan, or you start thinking of the end Mandalorian War when your compatriots turned. You blame me for their sins. Then you stumble out in your crude way that you didn't mean it that way. How you have somehow confused me with Saul Karath, I don't know. Maybe you need a lesson in anatomy and anthropology. Saul Karath Human male- me Nagai female. It's not like we're Wookies and you can't tell the sexes apart.

"Jedi are the hand of benevolence, but we are not pushovers either. Why do you get to rant and wave your hands around like some frazzled stim-junkie and walk away spouting off 'forget about it' after you've insulted and made digs and cuts? Oh, you don't flyboy. Someone needs to slap you in the face and tell you to shut the frill up. On Taris my hand stayed because you outranked me. It stays now because I will uphold the Code of the Jedi. But let me remind you, I haven't been a Jedi long. I will defend my honor in the way of the Nagai, human!"

Carth stared at her, as did all the others around the massive oak. No one said a word, no one even moved. None of them, not even Master Vandar had foreseen such a turn of events.

"No?" Skye asked him. "Too cowardly for that? Then we do things your way Onasi." She moved with such celerity that no eye, not even a Jedi's eye could follow her. She snatched Onasi's blaster from its hoster slapped into his hand and raised it to her head. "DO IT!" she snarled. "If you think I will betray you, then do it! Be smart Commander Onasi, invoke a pre-emptive strike! No? Still no balls? You like violence, Carth. You wave your hands around in anger; you spit angry words, then do it! Shoot me dead now you son of a maggot! Make sure I won't rise to be the next Dark Lord.

"You and Master Varook can be bed-mates in that path. Then your journey down the Dark Side will be complete. You're already headed there, Onasi. I can see it in you the red haze of the Dark Side tainting you as a cloying mist. " She took a step back from Carth whose hand was shaking so terribly the blaster fell from his grip. It clattered loudly on the paving stones of the courtyard.

"Next time you come at me with accusations and question my honor, you will come armed," when or how she had a knife in her hands no one could recall, "with this." She flung the Nagai honor dagger so that its point embedded into a stone near the butt of the blaster. "I am Jedi, now my hand will remain stayed, and I am Nagai who will remove the tongue of one who taints my honor. Be mindful how you speak to me or Bastila next, human, you have long crossed the line." Skye said no more she turned her back on Onasi, the audience that gathered, and retreated back the way she had come leaving everyone else to stare after her.

Bastila left as well. She could feel the turbulent emotions tumbling off of her bond-mate and knew it had been her own emotions that called Skye to her side. Now she needed to be at the older woman's side to console her after such a heated exchange.

Carth stopped down picked up his blaster and replaced it into his holster. On a second move he hesitantly pried the blade from its birth in the stone. "Commander Onasi, a word." Master Vandar approached him. Carth remained kneeling so he might be more level with the tiny Jedi Master.

"I didn't mean for things to get so out of hand, Master Vandar, I just wanted answers." Carth spoke chagrined. He had a hard time meeting the other male's gaze. He felt exposed, embarrassed and little more than afraid of what this great wielder of the Force would do in retaliation for his students.

"Padawan Ravensong has a great and powerful connection to the Force. It is still wild and yet she wields more power than even I. She and Knight Shan are under tremendous pressure. You were told all that you need to know for the moment. They are instrumental in stopping Darth Malak. The young women share a deep Force-Bond, where one goes the other must follow. This is enough for you to know. Know also it is unwise to test one such as young Skye as you have. She is not your junior officer you can brow-beat into submission. As you have seen here today such actions have consequences."

"I… didn't know about their bond. They never said anything about it."

"You never gave them a chance. Such is the way with blind accusations and haunting of past demons." Vandar said sagely. "Admiral Dodonna said you requested a transfer. She denied it."

"Yes. I felt I would be of better use out there in the front lines instead of stuck here while Ravensong trained. It's been weeks since I was doing something for the Republic, for the war effort, I guess I just took out my frustrations out on Ravensong and Bastila. I'm sorry for causing such a ruckus in your Academy sir."

"Indeed. Your actions are not fitting of an officer or gentleman. But you shame not me but that uniform you hold so dear as well as yourself. Worse still you've shamed my young Jedi for keeping their oaths. New students to the Force are more dangerous than any Dark Lord. For their control over their emotions is new, control over the Force is new."

"Is it wise then to unleash Ravensong from the academy?"

"'Neophyte Padawan', I believe you termed it. From your tone of voice it sounded as an insult though you might have not meant it that way. Commander Onasi, as it has been told to you very often, they need to go together. Padawan Ravensong will learn along this path. We can not send a Master with her, but we will send another Knight. Bastila will also be there to guide her. As you worked with the others on Taris, I think it will behoove you to remain with the crew for better cohesion." Vandar said.

"I doubt Bastila or Ravensong will want me along."

"Then the solution is a simple one. Make amends."

~KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR~

Canderous was busily pushing the swoop bike back aboard the bay of the Ebon Hawk when he caught notice of the Onasi trudging his way back to the ship. Of note he caught site of the dagger in Republic's hand and recognized it for what it was.

"Stirred up a kenrath's nest did you?" the old man barked with laughter.

"I guess everyone knows by now." Carth snarled.

"Know what?" Canderous asked. "That blade you're carrying is a Nagai Honor blade. Two ways to get one if you're not a Knife. Steal it off their corpse or a seriously pissed off Nagai flung it at your feet."

"So what if they do?"

"She means to evoke the Rite of Blade Wronged." Canderous said simply.

Mission and Zalbaar had come back from one of the shops, the earlier eating some sort of frozen confection. "What's the Rite of Blade Wronged?" The girl asked having overheard Canderous' words.

"A Nagai ritual of honorable battle. See if a Nagai warrior's honor has been put into question, they tend to go high and to the right and demand retribution. Not that I blame them, in fact I respect it. All Nagai warriors carry twin honor blades. And if gravely insulted, they will fling one of their blades at the kriffing idiot who was stupid enough to question their honor and the oaths they made. The one wronged will meet this idiot in a battle ring, sometimes to first blood, other times to yield or sometimes to the death. Now either the defender of one's Honor will walk away restored if they are the victor or they are shamed until their honor can be restored in another way. In the latter case they lose both their honor blades. If that is the cause, the Nagai Warrior might request death by beheading so that their honor is restored in death. Like I said, you get a blade like that in one of two ways and she will want it back, Republic. She'll either take it from your dead hand or from your placid fingers after she renders you unconscious."

Zalbaar growled something that caused Mission to shrug. "Big Z wants to know if Skye needs a second. He calls for that right if there is."

"Now hang on. I'm not going to fight her!" Carth said.

Zalbaar grunted something that sounded like a protest and disproval.

"Big Z's right, you've been kinda nasty to her since Taris and now you won't even try to make thing s right between you. You are a coward."

Canderous laughed. "I'm with you Wookie. That's the trouble with Republic soldiers. They can get right in your face with the false piety, inalienable human rites, morality and the higher road, but fall every time when things get really tough. Don't have the backbone to admit when their wrong, stupid or in this case a fool. You're good in a fight Onasi, but for all your bluster, how much honor do you have?"

"Inalienable human rites?" Mission frowned, having caught the comment that puzzled her most. "Isn't that a bit racist? But Skye isn't human, she's Nagai. And I've seen plenty of humans on Taris who wouldn't say other species get to have any sort of rights. You didn't seem to be like them, Carth."

"I'm not racist and I'm no coward. I just don't think fighting is the best way to communicate."

Either he sneezed or it was a sound of disbelief Zalbaar had made. Mission nodded at the comment.

"What the Wookie say?" Canderous demanded.

"He said Carth is lying. He's been picking fights with Skye since we were on Taris. Complementing her on one hand and then insulting in the next breath. Big Z and I weren't sure if it was some sort of way of human courtship. It seems to be an awfully weird way to get a female into your bunk, if you ask me. What kind of woman likes to be shouted at all the time?"

"Now we are way off the mark here." Carth protested. "I'm not trying to bed Skye! And I'm not racist. How in the name of the Force is me having a Nagai honor blade related to racism and sex?"

"Don't ask me, you're the one with the problems. But since you made a mess of things with Skye, you've now got the problem with Big Z and me, 'cause Skye is our friend. And she means a hell of a lot to me. She's my best friend and Big Z's got the life dept to her. So you got problems with us too, Carth. "

"I swore a pledge to her as well Onasi, her troubles are mine as mine are hers. You recall that little event in the cantina? So now you got me to deal with as well. Don't give Skye that fight, then we'll do our own brand of justice in the name of restoring her honor. I'm guessing Bastila will have a few issues with you as well."

"I suppose this has escalated far beyond an apology."

"My brother Griff… he'd do dumb-ass things and apologize the next day. Apologies stopped meaning anything to either of us. It'd become a ritual. He'd say it, I'd forgive him and he'd do another dumb-ass thing that ended up hurting my feelings or getting us into trouble. And the cycle would start all over again. Sometimes an action means a lot more than words. I don't think you have a choice but to do what Skye wants and meet her in that battle arena. You did a lot worse than hurt her feelings, like Big Z said you challenged her honor. Besides like I said we don't like the way you treat her, she saved me and him both from the rancor and slavery and dying when Malak blew up Taris. She's a hero to us and we'll stand at her side, no matter what." Mission turned to the massive Wookie standing beside her. "Right?

Zalbaar growled his affirmation.

"See there you go."

"For a kid you're pretty smart." Carth complemented the teenager. "It's strange Grand Master Vandar said pretty much the same thing. I would have to find some way to make amends."

"That means fighting her in a battle arena. Seeing her destroy Starkiller with a vibroblade… you don't stand a chance. Still it should be entertaining for all of the thirty seconds it will take to put you down like a dog." Canderous chuckled.

Carth had seen every one of her bouts in the Adjuur's arena. Like Twitch, Carth favoured blasters and he was very good with them, he was even fair when it came to fisticuffs but he was nowhere as skilled a Nagai blademaster scout who just happened to be training as a Jedi. The old Mandalorian was right the match would be over before it began.

"Nice support there, Canderous."

"I'll support Skye any day, any way, any where. You? I tolerate you because you are her ally. Once you're not all bets are off, Republic."

~KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR~

"Are we seriously going to allow this behavior to continue? Commander Onasi might have been out of line, but her reaction was inexcusable!" Vrook snapped. "She must be disciplined."

"What do you propose, Master Vrook?" Vandar chided his fellow. "Can we punish her for what we insured would be a natural response? We made sure the personality was loyal to the Republic, but we also insured a great hold on racial heritage. Now that Ravensong has awaked to the Force can we turn our backs on the course of action we did, simply because she has responded as we programmed her to? I will remind you, she did not lash out with the Force as Revan surely would have when so provoked. Instead Ravensong chose to initiate a ritual observed by a code of honor."

"The only Code she should be concerned with is the Jedi Code. Racial heritage has no place in the Order." Varook argued. "Did, Atris and even Kavar not warn of this!"

"Perhaps that is a failing on the part of the Council." Dorik said. "Juhani is nearly lost to us because we ignored the Cathar instinctual bloodlust. As a people the Cathar need to hunt and do so in their own Great Hunts to quell the Dark Side and silence its hold. Master Quatra will lead her padawan into a confrontation with the darkness within, in a rather unorthodox manner, but it must be done as apart of Juhani's Trial of the Sprit."

Vandar picked up where the Chronicler left off. "Sometimes we as Masters must adapt to the needs of our young charges, to see they rise above that which is most base. Yet we insist our members give all to the Order and set aside their heritage. This is easy when they come to us as infants and younglings but the older ones struggle with this. And there are some natural responses that can not be suppressed by mental control or emotional repression. Perhaps more guidance and tolerance and understanding on our part as a Council should be re-examined. We can not discipline our members because of biological responses as in Padawan Juhani or racial honor as with Padawan Ravensong. The Nagai call of honor is strong, doubly so in our Padawan-errant because of the actions we took. Revan came to us as babe in arms; Ravensong came to us as an adult who 'spent' her youth in a Nagai martial monastery."

"I agree with Masters Vandar and Dorik. These two sentients have a dispute better dealt with under our eyes or risk action taken without our guidance. At least here we can set the precedence and conditions of this battle of honor." Zhar commented. "No Force powers, no lightsabers, no striking to kill or permanently maim. A contest to surrender, I believe is fitting in with the ritual and it will satisfy both parties."

Vrook didn't like it nor did he agree with the words of his colleagues. This new Revan should be turned away from the Nagai rituals and urged to take on the more controlled Codes of the Jedi. Allowing her this concession of honor dueling was setting a dangerous precedent for all other students. One he could not abide. He'd lodge a complaint with the rest of the Council when in session. Unlike the Galactic Senate, the Grand Master of the Order could not be removed from his or hers station by a vote of no confidence, but their judgments could be questioned and vetoed if the majority of the Council was in consensus.

For the moment however, the aging master decided to sit back and watch this fiasco unfold. He turned to the others and spoke his last protest. "If this is to be allowed then precautions for Ravensong must be taken so she does not use the Force. I insist she is yoked with a restraint collar."

"I believe that issue is already addressed." Vandar said one of his trademark knowing smiles. "Ravensong's Nagai honor could have no less than equal ground while within this contest."

~KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR~

AN: the notes of the Jedi Lightsaber forms was taken directly from Wookipida and used liberally.


	12. Chapter 12

Legend: bold italics is telepathic sendings, regular italicized is internal monologing

Chapter 12

"If you are here to tell me I must wear a restraining collar you need not bother." Skye said tossing said item to Bastila as the knight stepped into their shared quarters. "Inspect it. You will see that it is fully operational."

"You heard then the conditions the Masters have stipulated will take place in order for this…contest to continue?"

"No. I suspected as much. Onasi is no match for me in a melee contest even before my Jedi training. There is no opposition or defence he can offer if the playing field is not levelled. This is an honor match. No honor can be maintained if the fight holds great disadvantages for one of the combatants."

"Then you mean to go through with this." Shan said in a voice that wasn't at all surprised.

"I have had enough of him. He gave me little choice."

"There is always a choice."

"Yes. I chose not to kill him." Ravensong said matter-of-factly. "Had I not taken the oath of the Jedi, he would be. This match would still have happened but it would have been to the death, not to the pain of surrender." The chill in her voice frightened Bastila. "Now either put that thing on me or give it back so I can do it."

Shan shook her head and for a moment it looked like she was going to hand the collar back instead she put it around the neck of the Nagai, but didn't activate it. When Skye gave her a questioning look Bastila offered the explanation. "Once you're on the field it will be activated. Skye those collars… they zap your energy so swiftly it will bring you to your knees. How you plan on fighting with it on?"

"I was conditioned within the Monastery as a youngling to overcome the effects of the collars. The Tof like to place them on their captives when they process them for slavery. Those trained to be a Nightblade are especially conditioned to withstand it. Our actions are slowed but we are not incapacitated. Besides if you can withstand the effects via the Force who is to say I cannot?"

Bastila visibly winced. "Skye… just…." she signed. "Be mindful, this will not be the same was it was during your time at the monastery." She said the words as if she were chewing on something acidic-ly bitter.

"No dire warnings about razor edges, heretical thoughts or the dark side?" Skye challenged, a little surprised at the words offered by her bond-mate.

"The Masters are allowing this. What is there for me to say? I trust in their wisdom. Besides Carth did bring this upon himself and the Masters may have foreseen the necessity of this honor-bout to quell his paranoia which could hamper the success of our mission."

'_A fallen foe may rise again but the reconciled one is truly vanquished.' Perhaps this contest is the best way to reconcile whatever difference lay between Ravensong and Onasi. For clearly there is one.'_ Bastila pondered.

She watched as Skye methodically disrobed her clothing and placed them on her bed. Her boots she placed near her footlocker which she stored her training saber. She then put her robe back on. At Bastila's questing eyebrow the Nagai shrugged, saying only: "Propriety's sake."

The only weapon she carried was the Tehk'la honor blade. The blades themselves were far from ceremonial. They featured both a serrated edge and vibration generators to aggravate damage when withdrawn from a wound. Additionally, the blade was well balanced, capable of being used with the off hand by those who were capable of using two weapons simultaneously. The balanced blade also made it a useful throwing knife. These weapons were not simply used to battle opponents but to cripple them upon victory.

The Nagai warriors never parted with them willingly. To have one and not be a Nagai it was said it was either taken off their corpse or it was thrown at you and if it hit, you were either dead or going to die when it was pulled out of you. And if it was deliberately thrown at your feet, that meant they wanted it back by duelling.

Skye Ravensong: Nightblade of the Nagai Monastery, Disciple of the Night Mother and Jedi Neophyte wanted her blade back.

KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR

Her blade was a part of her, like the stinger of a wasp. How in blazes was he supposed to fight her? Carth shook his head; there was no way he could stand up to Ravensong in a melee contest. He seen her take down Marl the blademaster in Ajuur's arena and defeat him, Twitch and Starkiller… both masters of firearms, both felled. And that was _**before**_ the Jedi training.

Carth had no great skill with a combat knife nevermind duelling with a dagger, no more than any other solider passing through Basic that is. Holding the honor blade a… Tehk'la if he remembered the proper name of it correctly, he felt the remarkable balance of it. It was finely honed, its serrated teeth sharpened into a razor's keen biting edges. The vibro-generator made it an even more deadly weapon. Nearly as deadly as a lightsaber in the right hands. Since she was the age of four, Ravensong had been trained in a Nagai monastery to master the martial arts. Of course all Nagai trained within the monastery were instructed to be an assassin or so persistent rumours claimed.

'_How old were you when you took your first life?'_ Carth wondered. He had heard the rumours and stories about the Blades being sent out to kill their first mark at the age of twelve. Had Skye Ravensong killed so young?

He held the blade as he might have a sword, _'There is no way I can go head to head with her and survive.'_ He stared at the dagger in his hand and wondered at the true beauty of its forging. It surely was a thing of deadly magnificence, much like the woman who owned it.

'_Oh frack Onasi, how in the hell did you get yourself into this one?' _

Maybe if he solicited one of the Masters, they could put an end to this madness. Vrook seemed to be a reasonable man and if Carth was any judge of character he was a bit more sensible than the more indulgent Vandar. He clearly saw something in Ravensong that needed to be tempered, reigned in and leashed lest she become another Revan. If he appealed to Master Vrook, Onasi might get a reprieve. Vrook obviously had no quarter with Skye's flamboyant behaviour. She was more than just a scout now, she was becoming a Jedi it was high time she started to behave like one. Onasi felt like a new man with a new purpose as he set off to find Master Vrook.

As he exited came face to face, or rather it was more fair to say face to knee, with Master Vandar. "Master Vandar?"

"I see that you have yet to prepare for the honor-duel."

"I… I…" the human scratched at a spot at the back of his neck. "I didn't think strutting around the Temple grounds naked was a particularly good idea."

"Is that not what the barrowed robe was for?" the Master challenged. Was it just Onasi's imagination or did the little green impish figure just smirk? "Though I believe the rules of engagement allow for the wearing of undergarments, I find it fascinating that honor duels of the Nagai and contests of battle prowess of the Echani are so very similar and yet the two species could not be more different. Hum… most fascinating."

"Yes, fascinating" Carth humoured the older male. "Sir, I know you said that this was perhaps the only way to smooth things over with Ravensong, but is it very Jedi? I mean isn't she indulging in her people's traditions and not adhering to your Code? Is that allowed?"

"Young Ravensong is an Initiate but she was not raised within the Order as a one. One can not expect her to suddenly and so very quickly adhere to the precepts of such a ridged code. She is not a droid to be given a memory wipe and orders to obey a new master." For some reason the miniscule master looked away before continuing. "We are allowing this so there might be peace between you. I have been informed that Initiate Ravensong has taken it upon herself to wear a neurocollar so your fears of facing her should be diminished. You have no need to cower, Commander Onasi."

"Cower? I'm no coward…"

But the diminutive Jedi had by this time began to move off leaving Carth to stew in his own predicament. At least there was some hope now. With a collar strapped around her neck Ravensong would be unable to tap into the Force- they'd be on relatively equal ground. Still she was a master of melee combat, and he had only the average training of Alliance training.

Glumly he followed Vandar past the meditative gardens and the Great Oak, to the training grounds. Already masses of students, temple servants and various others had gathered. Sitting at the front were Ravensong's staunchest supporters: the Wookie, the kid and the Mandi. The woman in question was no where to be seen. He didn't even see Bastila, which was odd. There were several hooded Jedi standing in the backlines, but no Ravensong, unless she was amongst their numbers.

'_No doubt she's meditating somewhere, just ready to spring into action the moment the fight is announced just like she had done on Taris. Fracking brilliant.'_ Onasi muttered to himself. He looked behind him and saw an empty chair, presumably there for him. He took off his orange flight jacket, boots socks, and gun belt. There was no way he was going to strip down to his skivvies in front of all these people! The very idea of fighting in your underwear was sheer lunacy. It was just another way to humiliate him, Carth knew it, well frack Ravensong, he sure as blazes wouldn't do that!

He stood defiantly with his arms crossed over his chest, the blade strapped to his high feeling heavy and alien.

Voices clambered into a single buzzing almost deafening white noise. As Master Vandar made his way to the center of the training arena the voices gradually stilled until they hushed and grew silent.

"To many this bout no doubt seems to be outside the confines of our Code." He looked directly at Onasi when he said this. "And while Padawans and Knights rely on the wisdom of the Code to steady them, sometimes conflict will still arise. There are times when it is called upon for a Jedi to adapt to a new situation.

"Many times a Jedi has had to partake of a tribal custom or ritual with another species if only to make peace, open lines of communication or ensure a more diplomatic solution. Sometimes those rituals are of a martial focus: a test of skill or strength. Such contests generally have rules to regulate the outcomes. This is one such contest.

"While the teachings of the Jedi Order discourage a hold-fast to old ties of one's cultural customs for the good of the all and the Jedi Path, we of the Council have made an allowance for today's event. Initiate Ravensong is new to the Order, and what has transpired has happened while in service to the Jedi but before she was inducted into the Order. There is an old wisdom that states: 'A fallen foe may rise again but the reconciled one is truly vanquished.' Today we are here to see a reconciliation between two who should be allies. But fear has blinded one, and anger the other.

"This is a contest of honor, one preformed by the Nagai people. It is not a contest to the death, nor to first blood but to the surrender of an opponent. The reason for this contest of honor has come because of careless accusations and swift anger in the retaliation that such accusations are unfounded.

"I see that Commander Onasi stands before us. He stands here to day after making numerous claims that Initiate Ravensong is responsible for the attack of the _Endar Spire_, for the actions and betrayal of former Republic officers and their joining of the Sith. The destruction of Taris and of obeying the words of the Council rather than submit to his personal inquisition. Initiate Ravensong has taken great exception to these accusations and claims such false testimonies have tarnished her honor and will not abide the forced mantle of wearing another's sins as her own. "

The old master turned to the crowd and offered an explanation. "The rules of the honor-contest of Blade Wronged, clearly states no armour or outer garments to neither cover nor conceal the combatants. I see that you have opted to interpret those rules differently; very well it is your choice of course."

Onasi grounded his teeth. Vandar was working the crowd masterfully, if one excused the pun. All of a sudden he's the bad guy. Could no one understand his need to keep guarded? That to trust is to allow yourself to be betrayed?

"Initiate Ravensong? Are you ready?"

"I am." A voice from the back called out. Pushing past the throng of people standing in the back of the room was the blue cloaked figure of Skye.

Seeing her garbed, Carth sneered, "I see I'm not the only one who decided not to follow…"

Onasi's words stuck in his throat as the robe came off and before him stood a very naked Nagai warrior. The only thing to adorn her body was the neurocollar around her neck. The blade in her hand was as naked as she.

He had been made the fool of after all.

"Onasi, as you can plainly see I am no male." Her hair was pulled up from its normal loose ponytail into a high one that revealed the tapered points of her ears. "I am Nagai, not a Human. As my word has never been good enough I have summoned a med-droid to pull a blood tissue and DNA samples to confirm my species and sex."

His face flushed. "That… that won't be necessary…"

"Oh but it is!" hissed the Nagai. "I have said more than once I AM NOT Saul Karath! He is a human male! I am a Nagai female. And yet you refuse to believe it. Time to put the first accusation to rest. Droid!"

"Coming at once, Master Ravensong." A silver mono-wheeled medical droid meandered from the ranks of jedi to Skye's side. She offered her arm and the droid took the necessary samples. It only took it a moment to process. "Your findings?"

"As predicated Master Ravensong you are not a male nor are you human. You are female and Nagai. DNA shows you are not Saul Karath and there is no data collaborating to say you have ever had an alias of that name or similar. Records state you are Skye Ravensong: formally Nightblade of the Nagai Monastery, Disciple of the Night Mother and now Jedi Initiate soon to become Padawan."

"Thank you. Now leave."

"Of course Master, glad to be of service." It turned swiftly on the single wheel and rolled away.

"Skye, you know that's not what I meant… and about the _Endar Spire_ I… you were… it was odd was all, you being one of the only survivors." Onasi went on, his flushed face lost all color.

"So were you. Three of us survived the attack. You, I and a Jedi Knight. I was there at the behest of the Jedi Council. I was chosen by _them_ to be there for the skills I possess, those very same skills that saved your ass time and again on Taris, which insured Bastila's freedom and ultimately bought our escape. And the same skills you say are the skills of a traitor, a conspirator."

"I never said you were a traitor or that you will conspire against the Republic only that…"

Skye flipped her dagger into a reverse hold. She looked ready to pounce, there was no way he could explain his view not to her, not to anyone. He'd never make them see the validity of his reluctance to trust anyone.

He was in far over his head; he realized just how far he had pushed this woman. The idea of the contest was one thing, but now to be in the ring with her was yet another. He saw the clear resolve in her crystal blue eyes- she was going to make him pay for all of his tantrums, accusations and torrid words. And she was going to do it with the full consent of the Jedi masters; he had no choice, no way of saving face other than committing himself to the duel. A duel he had already lost because he was unwilling to adhere to one of the basic rules of not wearing clothing. Master Vandar's speech had done him no favours in blinding the gathered Jedi and civilians to his valid point of view. And Skye's further demeaning demonstration in proving her sex and race was made only to mock him. Without raising the edge of her dagger, Skye had cut deeply and he was already bleeding out.

He understood now the dance of Blade Wronged. The physical aspect of the duel was secondary; it was the words before that was the deciding factor in who was going to be declared the victor. He supposed that it was only just as it was words that put him here in the first place.

Every eye was on him now; watching, waiting. He sighed took off his shirt folded it and tossed it on the chair behind him. His aim missed and the garment fell to the floor beside the chair with a soft floof. Great yet another feather in Ravensong's cap, he appeared even more the buffoon jumping at shadows.

Bastila watched the bout, she knew first hand from sparring with Ravensong just how swift the Nagai moved. Yes, with the neurocollar on her Skye would be much, much slower but her talents would not diminish.

Instantly dropping into a fighting crouch, the Nagai brought her blade to the level of her face, teeth bared in a delighted snarl. Onasi was smart enough not to charge her; he held his ground circling around her like a hound looking for an opening. They were sizing each other up.

Onasi shifted his stance putting his weight on his right foot; it was enough to move Ravensong. She slid her deadly blade down and to the right, ducking at the same time to avoid the enviable countersweep. Metal rang out; sparks flew as the Nagai shoulder rolled past Carth. He dodged the attack, but just- had it not been for the collar the Jedi's blade would have connected, taking a bite out of his leg.

Carth lunched at the Jedi, taking advantage of her momentary lapse in coordination. Each blow the pilot tried to make was instantly blocked. As fast as he lunged or retreated, the collared Jedi outpaced him.

Bastila realized as surely as the rest of Jedi present that even collared Ravensong could have taken Onasi at any time. She was playing him; wearing him down, spending his strength and all the while feeding him false hope that he was going to walk away with his ego intact.

Bastila watched as Skye slipped between Makashi and Ataru techniques fluidly despite her handicap. Through their bound, she felt the Nagai pulling heavily from the Living Force, drinking from its very essence as if it were expensive brandy. Just as Bastila had overcome the collar on Taris, Ravensong was overcoming her own. But it had taken Bastila four days to defeat the effects of the collar Brejik strapped around her by slipping deeply into a meditative trance. Skye was doing so in mere moments.

Shan looked over to the masters. Concern for Ravensong's ease in overcoming the effects of the collar was readily apparent on each of their individual faces. Vrook in particular was clearly troubled. Their eyes meet and the questions slipped his mind echoed into hers:

'**_Are you helping her?'_**

**'_No Master_**_.__' _Shan gave a subtle shake of the head.

'**_Perhaps you are unaware of it? Revan was always very adept at controlling the Force, even going as far draining the life-force of another to fuel her powers.'_**

**'_Master, I assure you, she is not drawing strength from me.'_**

**'_She must be taking it from Onasi then. He falters while she grows stronger.'_**

**'_I don't think so…'_**

'_**You are still young as is your knowledge of the Force**__.' _Vrook chastised her.

'**_I would feel it if she were doing so, Master. Such a technique is similar to Battle Meditation; I would feel it through our bond.'_**

**'_This farce as gone on long enough. I am putting a stop to it.'_**

**'_No! Forgive me Master Vrook but I think…no I know now this is necessary. Commander Onasi has been deliberately taunting, bating and prodding Skye. Even a kath hound leashed and muzzled would snap back if continually antagonized.'_**

**'_A Jedi must rise above such petty emotions!'_**

**'_She's not a Jedi…yet.'_**

**'**_**That is the first correct thing you've said since her arrival here. She will never be a Jedi. Do not let her false identity sway you Bastila, that is still Darth Revan, Dark Lord of the Sith**!' _Even in his mental dialog the master's voice was a seething snarl of contempt.

Bastila looked back to the fight or rather refocused on the fight as her eyes had never left the dangerous dance of blades. '_**No, that is the product of what we turned that woman into.**'_

Vrook took a step forward but was caught by his robes when Vandar's tri-fingered hand shot out and stopped him. "Oh, I apologize, Master Vrook, with my short stature it is difficult to see if you move forward. I'd appreciate it if you would be kind enough to take a step back." The hint was subtle but very clear: Vandar was not going to allow any interruption to the duel.

Grinding his teeth the old human took one step back, "Of course, Master Vandar." He said in false and forced politeness.

The aged Grand Master merely nodded his emerald skin. "Thank you." There was nothing faked in his tones.

Carth saw it too what Bastila had observed earlier. He was being whittled down, bit by bit, piece by piece. This wasn't the swift deadly attack of the tusked panther Ravensong had displayed in Ajuur's arena. This was the flittering swooping buzzing guerrilla warfare of the dart-bat. The collar firmly around her throat, Skye had to readjust and adapt her fighting style. It was almost as if she were using the melee contest as a training exercise.

The very idea galled the proud pilot. He would not be mocked! Not by the likes of a knife-eared arrogant little scout…that saved his ass more times then he wanted to admit. FRACK!

Skye spun on her heel connecting with Carth's gut he toppled over, the next kick landed on his head, causing his whole body to whip around and fall. Ravensong pounced. She was on Carth's chest almost immediately. She moved with incredible speed and agility, Onasi had no defence; no chance to counter. Her blade was at his throat, biting into the flesh.

"I am Skye Ravensong, Nagai Nightblade. I am Jedi. And I want my dagger back."

Her words rang as an echo in his ears; a trembling hand relinquished the blade back to its owner. It was snatched up with Skye's free hand and then scissor like both weapons were at the human's neck. She bent low, so low that her bare breasts were touching Carth's chin. "Remember this human, the next time you dare toss careless accusations around," she hissed. "I hold my hand for the benevolence that is the Jedi I am becoming. Should you ever be so very stupid to cross that line again you had better be prepared to back it up with proof or pay for your fear and lies with your life." Her lips pulled back into a snarl. "I am still a Nightblade, understand?"

She stood up and began walking away. With her left hand she reached for the neurocollar and almost nonchalantly she sent a tendril of emerald lightning through it. Sparks flared to life, around her neck coursing through the rest of her body. She gritted her teeth- the only outward show of the pain and ripped the ineffective collar from around her neck and dropped it on the ground. In the next instant her blue Matukai outer robe flew into her outstretched hand. She swirled it around her shoulders as she put it back on and continued her purposeful stride back to the dormitories.

Carth groaned, his head was throbbing, his body ached and the wound at his neck stung. He put a hand to it as he wearily climbed to his feet. His forehead dripped with sweat, and trickled into his eyes. Wiping his face free of the battle-grime he looked up to see Master Vandar staring at him.

"You can have that seen to in the infirmary. It doesn't look too deep." He spoke with an instructional tone rather than compassion. "Mastering one's fear and anger is not just a lesson for our Padawans. Many can benefit from such instruction. I hope this has brought a closure to any confrontation you have with your companion."

Carth nodded and winced for the cut was on the muscles in his neck. "And what of her, your Padawan?"

"She will continue her instruction in the ways of a Jedi. Her power is immense and she must learn to control it, to master it." There was an unmistakeable hint of worry in the old one's voice.

KOTOR~KOTOR~ KOTOR~KOTOR~ KOTOR~KOTOR~ KOTOR

Bastila found Skye stepping out of the shower, water dripping from her freshly washed body. They didn't speak; nothing needed to be said. The honor blades were in their sheaths on the Nagai's bed as were her robes which she was now donning.

"You'll be questioned after that little demonstration you put on with your collar." Bastila said at last.

"I removed the device, what of it?" Again there was a nonchalance to the Nagai's demeanour.

"You deliberately displayed a forbidden power." Bastila folded her arms, looking quite cross at her bond-mate.

"What? There is nothing is inherently evil about summoning lightning; it's all in the manner of the person wielding it. Energy is energy; I thought we had this discussion. Besides lightning can be a wonderful deterrent against enemy clankers. Screws with their CPU's," Skye tapped her skull, "shorts them out long enough to put them out of commission so you can deal with other threats. Very effective especially when you are outnumbered."

Bastila shook her head. "Skye…"

"Search our bond Bastila, what do you feel?"

The young human did as bidden. She closed her eyes, stretched out her mind and connected with Skye's. She found only simple resolve and an ease that hadn't been there before the confrontation with Carth. Bastila could sense no lie, no darkness residing within the Nagai. The summoning of the emerald lightening had been nothing but a tool; it wasn't even a means to an end. Ravensong didn't think of the talent as anything extraordinary. But it was in fact astonishing she was capable of it. Had Revan been capable of it when she had gone to war? She had heard the Dark lord was capable of summoning lightning. Perhaps to 'Ravensong' this was just a recall of lost talents and hidden memoirs.

Indeed the older woman saw the technique as a way to incapacitate electronics, droids nothing sinister as it would have been in the hands of a Sith. The fact that it was emerald and not purple was very significant. It was summoned from a sense of justice rather than vengeance. But it was considered too closely aligned with the Sith Lightning which was why it had been considered one of the forbidden Force techniques. Some masters however had studied it under controlled conditions. They had discovered that its energies can also be contained in a ball of pure kinetic force knowns as a kinetite. Bastila couldn't help but wonder and admittedly a little anxious to see if Skye could control the emerald lightning like that.

'**_How much do you tell the Masters of our talks?_**_' _Skye asked within the bond. She took a seat on the bed to put her boots on.

'**_Not everything. I answer only their questions as needed.'_**

**'**_**As needed**.'_Skye repeated.

'_They only want to know how you are acclimating to the training, to your new life. This is a new situation to all of us- one that even the Masters did not foresee_._'_ Aloud the human said. "You are a constant shifting variable. Your mastery over the lessons; the control of the Force that you wield; the fact you adapt to it so very quickly…"

Blowing out a breath, Skye turned to her counterpart. Well if she was going to be bent-out-of-shape by the woman, two could play at that game. '_Time to play_.' The smile Skye held was for herself alone. _'Besides, she had such a cute expression when wound up by flirting…' _

Bastila took a long look at the other woman, admiring the frame that housed such a powerful spirit. "I've been watching you closely to see what kind of progress you have made since your training at the hands of Master Zhar."

Skye smirked. "I think we both know the real reason you've been watching me." Skye flexed as she rose to her feet in one fluid motion. She heard a satisfactory gasp of desire escape from the younger woman.

'_Get a hold of yourself, Bastila! Remember you're a Jedi, above such base want_.' "You never give up do you? I admit I'm interested in you… I find you intriguing, compelling even, but _not_ in that way!" _'LIAR!_'

Skye smiled deeply more to herself than anyone else.

"You have a great gift Skye! You have an awesome command of the Force and I tremble when I think of how you might misuse it."

Skye padded up to Bastila purposely invading her personal space, whispering huskily into the shapely round ear "I make you tremble? Do you get all tingly inside too?" Skye placed her hand very close to Bastila's stomach but did not touch it. Again Bastila's voice hitched. Skye moved up along Bastila's arm near millimetres from touching flesh. Skye's near touch had sent shivers straight to her core, causing her body to instinctively respond to a touch that would give her such pleasure.

"What?" Bastila's voice was husky with that want. "I… No!" she shivered. "No… of course not!" '_LIAR__**!**__ She makes you wet! Admit it!_' her body screamed at her. "No, not like that!" Bastila took a step back forcing her mind to regain control over desire. "I meant…" she swallowed hard to get the next words out, "in many ways you are… you are dangerous. You can be the saviour of the galaxy or you can bring untold destruction to us all! I have seen you resist many temptations and continue to walk the path of the Light Side." Bastila shivered once more, regretful that Skye was now several paces away from her. She longed for the warmth ebbing off of the other woman. "Very commendable, but I am afraid you might stray from the path. You need to see what the Dark Side represents in its entirety for it is what we battle. Only the wisdom of a Jedi Master can truly explain this, but I will do my best to make you understand."

"What are you trying to tell me?" Skye had long given up hope that subject was going to be dropped.

"Skye, the Dark Side is not simply giving into anger or temptation to use the Force to destructive ends. These things only _lead _to the Dark Side. The Dark Side grows stronger, more insidious the closer you draw to it. It begs you to surrender to it, to release all its terrible power. It becomes harder and harder to resist. And once you stop resisting it is too late. It twists you up inside and turns you into a mockery of everything you once stood for." This time the shiver Bastila held was not for Skye's seductive presence but for the woman… the Dark Lord Revan. Pain etched her voice of a memory long passed but also a wound reopened and a seeping out her life-force.

"You seem to know this temptation well." Skye folded her arms over her chest.

"I am no less resistant to temptation than any other. I simply have the benefit that you do not. But even the training of the Jedi might not be enough to save us." Bastila's tone became a twinge of regret. Regret for the friend she once called Revan.

For some reason Skye's mind had replaced the words: '_save us' _with '_save you_.' It was as if she, not Malak, was the paragon of what it is to be the Dark Lord of the Sith.

Bastila's words drew again Skye's attentions. "We only have to look at the atrocities which have been committed by those under its sway to understand the terrible corrupting evil of the Dark Side. Millions dead and far more suffering. What sort of person would you have to become to do such deeds gladly?" Bastila looked to Skye as if she could explain why the Jedi heroes became dark and claimed the rule of the Sith.

"I don't know." Skye said honestly. She knew Bastila wasn't accusing her even though it felt for a moment she had been once more nailed for others' sins. It was more than poorly veiled accusations. Bastila was hiding something. She was saying something more than she was. What knowledge did Bastila hold along with the Council that was kept in shadow from Skye? Did they fear because she was the only Nagai since Revan to become a Jedi that she too might turn on them? Surely it couldn't be such an easy answer as bigotry.

"I don't know either. I hope I never know. It's so easy to think that we would never fall prey to such horror. That we have unlimited control, vigilance and foresight- if only that was true." Bastila said mournfully. As she looked to Skye, a shadow of the past swept past her eyes. "What greater power is there than to turn an enemy to your cause? To use their own knowledge against them?" Once more she turned from Skye unable to meet those azure eyes. "We are weakened while they are strengthened. So we must harden our hearts to do whatever is required to fight against the Dark Side. Even when the battle becomes wearing." '_Even when you have to bring deceit and betrayal to everyone in the name of the Light,'_ were Bastila's unspoken words.

Skye's hand came to Bastila's arm and she turned the other so that their gazes met. "Do whatever is required? Such as?"

Bastila almost forcefully pulled away. "I don't know." '_LIAR!__DECEIVER!__ This is NOT the Jedi way! The Council is wrong, you know it! She has the right to know the truth, least she find out on her own and turn to the Dark for she can not trust the Light_!' "The visions of our future are clouded by shadows cast by the Dark Side. But I sense something ominous is lurking in those shadows." It was then Bastila almost lost her resolve, her oath to the Council that she would keep silent about the truth of Revan.

'_You must do what ever is required Knight Bastila for the good of the Order, for the Light and the galaxy. Use your connection to whatever ends to turn her to our cause- to gain her trust and most importantly her knowledge of the Starforge.' _The words of Master Vrook were lead in Bastila's heart._ 'Harden your heart for she will bend you if you do not. Trust not any seeming friendship that might present itself for it is pretence only. Revan is __a__ master of charisma and persistent-, never forget that. Bend her will to us_.'

"Words alone can not save us from the Dark." Bastila said to both to herself and to the memory of the conversation she had with the Masters.

"Oh, I don't know." Skye attempted to bring a bit of levity to the melancholy woman before her. "I knew this woman. She had such a way with words that she could inspire battalions of soldiers as nearly was good as your Battle Meditation. No soldier under her command would sway from their duty… she... her name is…." Skye frowned. "Now isn't that queer? I can't recall her name. I know she was a Jedi; she was a general in the Mandalorian Wars. A natural leader… powerful… charismatic. They said she should have been Revan's true apprentice not Malak. Some of the Jedi said she had a unique bond to the Force, like she had a Force Bond with the Force. Weird… hard to read…" Skye shook her head trying to force the memory of the Jedi general into her mind. "Dusky brown sorta blonde hair- cut so unruly lit was like a thistle-top. She was very attractive. Blue eyes. Half-breed Nagai-human… I … don't know why I can't recall her name… well nevermind. Point is she could turn the hearts of warriors under her command with only her voice, no Jedi tricks, and it didn't stem from the Force but from who she was."

"The Exile," Bastila supplied.

"Meetra Surik… that's her." Skye nodded. "Exiled for following her heart, for doing what was right and fight to protect the innocents? She was a great woman, a fantastic leader. Only Revan held greater loyalty."

Bastila looked up at Skye's words, waiting perhaps wondering what else lay under the surface of buried memories.

Skye's voice became a whip of a storyteller's cadence. "All those Jedi that went to war with Revan did so **because** of the Jedi teachings, not to spite them. Protect the innocent, battle the darkness, save those who can not save themselves and when they went they were ridiculed for it, shunned, executed and cast out. Exiled."

"Skye… please… those were hard times for all. The Council only did what they knew… that they thought best." Bastila looked imploringly to the other woman, hoping to make her understand.

"So did they that went to war! Don't you think those Jedi that defied the will of the Order hadn't meditated on their actions before they took them? Don't you think they weighed the will of the Council over the Way of the Jedi? When is the Way of the Jedi cast aside for the will of the Council? They are not always the same. You said it yourself everyone is fallible. Perhaps the Masters more so because they have far removed themselves from the people they claim to protect. They lose touch and become as dusty as ancient archives of forgotten holocrons.

"Explain this to me, the anger Master Vrook holds- is that the way of the Order? Don't tell me you haven't questioned if he hadn't been touched by the Dark Side. Or perhaps he is just another human bigot who dislikes anyone who in his eyes is alien? It is to the young to heed the words of the wise. But there comes a point when the young become the wise and they can only do so _if _they question their predecessors."

Bastila had to admit that Skye was right on every account. Even now she was questioning the words of the Council over what the Knight knew were the true ways of the Jedi. Jedi do not practice deceit in such magnitudes. "Perhaps. I only hope when the time comes we are all strong enough to do what we must."

"As long as we follow the true Jedi way I think we will grain strength from it and each other. The ways of the Council are not always the way of the Jedi Code. I'm not saying we know better- far from it. All I'm saying is that some things have to be re-examined." Skye's voice had become softer.

"The Code says there is no emotion there is only peace. What you are talking about is more Sith. That peace is a lie…" Bastila was growing wary of her companion's words, her beliefs.

"Don't you see Bastila, in some instances it is? Take the natural world for instance. The tusked panther and its prey are prime examples. Try telling the deer the panther hunts there is only peace while it's being stalked. The panther isn't of Dark Side it is following the natural course of its life-cycle; the deer dies to feed the panther. That isn't peace that's a lot of blood, it is death and it's life. That's very messy. Even in the cosmos there isn't peace. A super nova isn't peaceful. It is destructive and powerful. It is chaos, not order and definitely not peaceful.

"Ask any woman who as ever given birth. They will tell you the birthing process sure as hell isn't peaceful. It is wonderful and glorious, messy and painful but it isn't peaceful. I'm not saying I agree with the Sith Code at all. Peace isn't a lie. Listen to the sounds of the water lapping up against the shoreline, the soft kiss of a summer's breeze through a glade in a forest, or a baby's laughter, these are things of peace. Vrook may scowl at the sound of an infant's laughter; ridicule it even for being emotional. No doubt he'd tell a woman giving birth she was going all Dark Sidey because she was succumbing to the labour pains. But it isn't the Dark Side, it's life."

Bastila nodded agreeing to Skye's viewpoint. "Your words have truth to them." She smiled. "Though I doubt even Master Vrook will chastise a woman for her labour pains."

"You never know, it seems to be his favourite pastime."

Bastila bashfully grinned at the jib then more soberly she said: "As for those things you mentioned yes there is chaos in the cosmos and in the natural world there is little peace. But those things are not sentient. They can not make a choice based on morality; they are ruled by instinct or by astrophysics. But you and I are self-aware and are accountable for our actions."

Skye titled her head studying the other woman a moment before she spoke. "When you say these things who are you talking about me, or you?"

Grey eyes grew wide: "What?"

"These warnings- are they for me or are they for you?"

"They… I…."

There was a sudden thump at the door bringing the conversation to a sudden halt. Skye turned back to Bastila and smirked, her voice dropping a seductive purr. "You know you're cute when you're flustered." When she heard the almost inaudible gasp, the Nagai's smile deepened. She stepped up closer to her bond-mate. "Very cute…" she winked and then went for the door.

On the other side was not who Skye was obviously expecting because she had to look down to meet the eyes of her visitor. The diminutive Master Vandar was evidently accustomed to taller sentients expecting someone of their own height.

"Skye and Bastila, may I come in?"

Ravensong moved aside and gestured for the Grand Master to enter.

"Thank you. There is much to discus, I think."


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

There was an inquisition. Of course there was. There had to be. From where came the power to summon emerald lighting?

Once more Ravensong found herself standing before the Council, this time the entire council had been in attendance with half of them being represented by holographic interfaces, which included: Atris, Kavar, Zez-Kai Ell and Lonna Vash

"You expect us to believe you came to the summoning of lighting because of your droid?" Vrook snarled. "You play the Council for fools."

"If you think I'm playing you false then you are the fool." Ravensong returned. "I saw Tee-Three using electric attacks against our foes when we were in Sith base. They were particularly useful against other droids. Energy is energy. T'is just a matter of how it's expended. Organic bodies are stores houses of electrical current; it's why we give of static charges…"

"We didn't summon you here to give us lessons in elementary physics!" Vrook snapped.

"Then why ask silly questions?" the scout challenged. "You bade me learn the way of the Jedi. I was instructed to study from history and sent me to the archives- well I have studied. I have learned. I learned the ancient masters had this power; they used their sense of justice to call it forward. I learned it is not as taxing against the body and soul of the user as its dark equivalent. 'What greater weapon is there than to turn the enemy's own power against them?'"

"You court the dark side too regularly." The human challenged.

"Take a look in the mirror old man."

"You dare!?" Vrook raged.

Ravensong only grinned as if proving her point. It was then that Lonna Vash spoke up.

"You have a particular wit and a quick tongue young one. And you inspire swift anger in those who should have absolute control of it. Perhaps it is time for you to face the trials to become a full Padawan, as Master Zhar believes."

"She is no where near ready!" Vrook spat.

"Then you have nothing to lose see to see me fail." Ravensong said out of the side of her mouth. "I will see these tests Masters and I will pass them."

"You have skills, no one denies that. Let us see if your abilities are a match for you bravado." Atris's austere voice challenged. "Let her face the trials. The longer the procrastination the longer Malak had to muster greater power. The keys of that tomb must be unlocked."

"Master Atris has a clear point." Vandar said. "Skye it is time. The first test to leave the rank of Initiate to become a Padawan is to recite the Code of the Jedi. Not only to recite it but to understand it. Demonstrate this now."

Skye met the gaze of each master in turn before adopting a soldier's parade rest. "There is no emotion… there is peace." She looked pointedly at Vrook. "Meaning a Jedi must repress their emotions and calm their centre until the storm of feelings is silenced by inner peace. This principle guides all meditations and interactions with all others. It reaffirms the Jedi ideal to act without recklessness, and to view the actions of others through the pure lens of the unifying Force."

She turned to Vandar and added, "If the living Force engenders compassion eventually even love- I do not feel these are a detriment, despite the precepts of the Code."

"You do not need your interoperation of the Code." Atris swiftly intervened. "You will continue or you will not. Either you understand the Code or you do not."

Skye shook her head arguing, "But what about what the Upper Manderon and Draggulch transcriptions add…"

"You will continue or you will not. Either you understand the Code or you do not." Atris repeated.

"There is no ignorance, there is knowledge." Skye responded. "Those that don't understand this are quick to fear and fear is the path to the dark side. Knowledge is the greatest weapon the greatest tool anyone can posses.

"There is no passion, there is serenity. The subtle extrapolation of the first precept, this reminder to act dispassionately in every deliberation extends to personal obsessions and is a reminder not to elevate the self above the mission."

Atris looked at her expecting the young to speak out on this but the Nagai kept her tongue. It was however evidently clear that the scout did not believe it, even if she were parroting the words.

"There is no chaos, there is harmony. It means those who cannot see the threads uniting all life view existence as random and without purpose. The Jedi perceive the structure and the will of the many galaxies." Again in her eyes it was clear that Ravensong did not completely believe this.

"There is no death, there is the Force. All things die, but the Force lives on. As beings who exist as shades of the Force, the end of our existence in this form is not overly mourned. We are part of an energy larger than ourselves, and we play roles in a cosmic fabric that outstrip our incarnate understanding."

Of this the Nagai fully believed, the Force was capable of profound and extraordinary things. The transcendence of death was one of them.

"You have an excellent grasp of the Code, even if added your own interpretations of them." Zhar smiled indulgently. "Your second trial is the construction of your own lightsaber. The act of constructing a lightsaber forever marks you as a member of the Jedi Order. The construction of a lightsaber is more than an act of loyalty to the organization that has stood for a thousand generations it is an opportunity to make a saber of ones' own. The Jedi strive for consistency in manner of dress but we do not make rules for this most personal of weapons."

"A padawan must know themselves before you are able to build a unique lightsaber." Vandar added to Zhar's words. "The crystal is the heart of the blade. The heart is the crystal of the Jedi. The Jedi is the crystal of the Force. The Force is the blade of the heart. All are intertwined. The crystal, the blade, the Jedi. We are one."

"I understand Master." Skye dipped her head in respect.

"After your vision quest you will." Said the eldest of the Masters.

This time it was Zhar who spoke. "Typically all initiates are sent into the crystals caves of Illum. This Jedi planet is the source of crystals that emit bright green, brilliant blue and shimmering gold blades. But our circumstances are very unusual; you will not be sent to Illum. However, here on Dantooine there is a similar cave, though far smaller.

"It is home to the kinrath in the due south-east end of the Khoonda plains. Within you will find several Adegan crystal formations. Mediate upon the words of the mantra Master Vandar has spoken to you within the greater chamber until one of them calls to you through the Force. During your meditation, you may experience flashes of your future or insights into the structure of the universe.

"The final step requires absolute concentration, and it is the reason behind the forced focus of the isolation of the crystal caverns. The pieces of the lightsaber hilt must be fused together through precise application of the Force. Fail to align them properly and the saber may explode upon activation. More painful than the loss of your hand will be the sting of your failure."

Skye remained mute, but the answering declaration that she wasn't going to fail was loud and very clear within her eyes. Reflecting for all to see.

"It will be done, Master." Skye gave a small bow feeling dismissed so she turned a 180 degrees on her heel and strode out of the Council Chambers. After a brief moment's pause, Master Zhar followed her.

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As Skye strode across the grassy plains of Khoonda, she noticed the sun rising quickly above the horizon. She'd been walking for hours beneath the cool rays of the moon; the warmth of the sun was welcome. The small development around the Enclave and the hillocks that surrounded were far behind her. If she cared to look behind her, she would have just been able to make then out in the growing light.

There were no backward glances, her feet marched doggedly onward. The near freezing temperatures hadn't stopped her, nor would the sticky humid temperatures of the day. A Jedi was trained to ignore physical discomfort and make them insignificant—cold, heat, thirst, hunger, fatigue all were overcome by sheer power of the Force alone.

It had not been so long ago that she had first set foot on this world. She sensed the power of the world: Dantooine was alive with the power of the Force neither dark nor light. There was a balance here. At the time of her arrival Skye only felt the strings of its power in faint stirrings like a distant hum. She had grown accustomed to its presence, it became so familiar to her like the beating of her own heart that she barely noticed it any more. But the closer the scout got to the caves the louder that hum became.

Skye paused before the threshold, closed her eyes and drew in the air of ancient secrets that surrounded the entrance to the cavern. She made her way down the long throat of the tunnel, moving cautiously through the gloom allowing her eyes to adjust to the different depths of shadows. Five meters in, the gloom gave way to an eerie faint shimmer of purple luminescence.

That's when they attacked; no doubt they had sensed Skye's approached even before she entered the cave. Her command over the Force drawing them in. The first one set upon her attempting to strike with its stinger. Using the power of the Force she seized hold of it and hurled it away, smashing into jaws of stalagmites. The second beast jumped her, with a third and forth. She drew her training saber and vibroblade, slicing through sinew, muscle and bone. At her feet lay five dead kinrath.

Their stingers plunged past the cloth of her uniform biting deep into her flesh. Toxin spread rapidly, burning her blood—quickening a path into her heart. Using the Force the newly-awakened Jedi was able to stave off the poisonous effects for a while but not for long.

The third attack descended hot on the heels of the second. This one lead by the kinrath matriarch. Her drones and mates dead, she became enraged- her attacks powerful and frenzied. Skye took desperate measures to stay dominant; the Force fueled her blood and muscles. Emerald lightening burst from her fingertips gripping the queen spider in a dozen different tendrils of energy. Her howls of rage became death knells as her body was ripped in twine, each half a smouldering ruin.

After that the kinrath left her alone, which was fortunate, because Ravensong was no longer positive she possessed the strength to hold them off and battle the poisons already coursing throughout her bloodstream. She stumbled past the strewn corpses of dozen arachnids over to the far wall of the cave, her back pressed against its cold craggy surface, her lungs taking in greedy gulps of air.

Desperate fingers went to a pouch on her utility belt hunting for a medi-pack epi or more specifically one filled with antitoxin. She snatched the pen and stabled it in to the meaty side of her thigh and waited as the antidote battled the spider's venom.

After a moment the toxin has worked its way out of her system, and Skye looked up and saw for the first time the true arena of the battle ground. All around her were spires of crystal formations, in and amongst them dozens more kinrath eggs. The Nagai fell to her knees as she drew in the beauty of the crystals. She swore she could almost hear them sing.

As Master Zhar had instructed, the young Jedi began to meditate. She sat cross-legged in the dirt allowing the Force to fill her, center her mind and soul until it was all she could feel. She centered her mind, her will, on the words: 'The crystal is the heart of the blade. The heart is the crystal of the Jedi. The Jedi is the crystal of the Force. The Force is the blade of the heart. All are intertwined. The crystal, the blade, the Jedi. We are one.'

_The heart of the blade, the heart of the Jedi, the heart of the Force. _

KOTOR~KOTOR~ KOTOR~KOTOR~ KOTOR~KOTOR~ KOTOR~KOTOR~

The crystal is the heart of the blade. The heart is the crystal of the Jedi. The Jedi is the crystal of the Force. The Force is the blade of the heart. All are intertwined. The crystal, the blade, the Jedi. We are one...

_Haze black and foul as aged ink coiled around the figure. Her body a broken shell, bones shattered, coupled with too much blood loss; it was unlikely she'd survive. She felt her body being dragged from the wreckage, her eyes opened and she saw her. Gray eyes, beautiful auburn hair fell about a pale face._

The heart is the crystal of the Jedi...

"_You will not die here." The voice said. Bastila's voice. The voice of her Angel._

The Jedi is the crystal of the Force_..._

_Skye blinked, this wasn't right, Bastila wasn't the one to pull her from the wreckage of her ship… it was another human-her Angel. The smoke of destruction gave birth to another figure. One in red and black armour, feminine in appearance. Skye tried to focus but blood was leaking into her eyes. She tried to wipe it away but her hand hit something solid, hard and metallic. _

_It was a mask. The cloaked figure came into focus. The Nagai gasped when she saw herself staring down at her body not… not her body… Revan's body!_

The Force is the blade of the heart...

_NO!_

_No no no no no no…._

_They lied to her._

_All of them._

_They lied!_

_But she couldn't be Revan. She had memories, she remembered her mother, her father. She remembered Deralia playing in the Vastmark forest. She remembered the Temple of the Night Mother; being an acolyte and the intense training, she remembered midnight vespers. _

_Revan was trained as a Jedi since she was three; Skye only started her training three months ago. _

_She remembered feeling the rush of the Force flooding through her for the first time. It was not three months ago. _

_Revan. _

"_What if we take this one in and the Dark Lord returns?"_

"_What greater power is there but to turn the enemy's own weapon against them?_

"_They say the Force can do terrible things to a mind. It can wipe away your memories -destroy your very identity!"_

_I AM REVAN!_

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Skye snapped her eyes open. She felt numb. She fell hard against crystal formations. Their jagged surfaces cutting into her back, the air in her lungs torn out, blood pounded in her skull.

She didn't know how long she sat there trying to process the truth. There was no way to tell within the cave just how many hours had passed, not that it mattered. It could have been days though the Nagai knew that not to be true. It seemed the truth was a great rarity of late.

Bastila lied to her. She lied! They all had, the entire Council was in on the pantomime. Her mind raced with a dozen different questions, anger flooded her heart. Until it was all she felt.

What kind of game is it that everyone playing is moving the same pawn? Suddenly the hate Vrook held for her was clear, Bastila's nervousness, her ambiguous attitude towards their connection, how the bond must gnaw at her. Did Carth know as well? It would certainly explain his disdain for her, his complete mistrust? Was he quizzing her, probing her to see if she recalled being the Dark Lord? Or was he just that paranoid?

Pfft… the lies... the denials and misinformation. It explained Bastila's strange reaction when Skye had told the story to Davik Kang's slaves and how she was so scared. How she paled and very nearly panicked and the tears in her eyes when Skye revealed she loved her Angel. How the guilt must have taken root in the _Princess's_ heart to hear that proclamation of affection.

"I will not be so moved." Skye nee Revan muttered under breath. "I will be no pawn to be sacrificed." The young Jedi rose to her feet. "But I will play the game. I am a scout…and have played many roles…" The Nagai paused in mid rant. No she wasn't a scout; she had not assumed the roles of anyone in order to ferret out information. That was what the Masters had programmed her mind with. False identities, false memories. "So be it. If they want me to play the role, so be it."

Ravensong drew in a deep stilling breath; the revelation was sealed away in part of her mind, locked away from Bastila and their bond. The Nagai was resolved to continue to play the ruse. She knew what they wanted form her, but even if she wanted to, Skye could not give the Masters the knowledge of how Revan… 'humph she' had amassed so much power in such a short time.

And then there was Malak- the bastard had to pay, that was clear enough, he deserved to die. She was only too happy to step up and oblige.

Still… there other matters now at hand.

The creation of a new lightsaber. The former dark lord smiled wondering how closely this new blade resembled that of the one she used to wield. Ones. Ravensong corrected herself. Revan held two blades just was Ravensong did now. She had come here to harvest crystals for her sabres, it was time to collect.

The crystals she found within the formations were rubat and bondar as well as a handful of blue and green coloured ones. But there was another one, one unique to any other. Nearly as unlike as the untouchable one within the center mass, only this one the Nagai could touch. Removing the crystal from the formation the Nagai smiled. How deliciously ironic! The crystal was black.

With all the components at hand, Skye resumed her seated meditative position.

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It had been hours since Skye left for the Khoonda plans and the kinrath cavern. In the wake of her absence Bastila felt a fog washing over her, she felt something rising within the Force, an awakening. The human could not help but wonder what visions Ravensong had uncovered during her meditations.

So concentrated on what she could gleam from the Bond which was not but a whisper, the human scarcely noticed the plate of food before her. She continued to prod at the casserole with the prongs with a fork. She felt the presence of two souls enter the mess hall and sit next to one. another. One at her side the other across from her.

"Hey Bastila." Mission's ever cheerful voice greeted warmly. "Any news of Skye?"

The young knight shook her head. "No. Though I think she has reached her destination. I can feel her deep in meditation."

"Must be handy to be able to communicate with each other like that without a comm-link."

Bastila shrugged. "It is all very new. I had never felt anything like it before." She lifted a fork-full of chicken parmesan to her lips but put the utensil down and sighed. The food had grown cold and started to taste of ash within her mouth.

For the most part she tuned out the sounds of the others' conversations. Apparently Zalbaar had gone in the plans hunting, Ordo had gone with him or seemed to have been invited, Bastila didn't know which. Her mind circled around and around Skye's Padawan trials. Apparently she had caused a stir within the council due to her answers to the Code of the Jedi. The young knight couldn't help but ponder how closely related were the views of Revan to those of Ravensong.

Now she was off constructing her first lightsaber, part of her test to demonstrate self-discipline through meditation and lightsaber combat. Of course the caves would prove plenty of that. The kinrath would be attracted to the raw energy of the Force during Skye's meditations. Even after killing a few during when first entering the cave more would soon return.

The next trial was to prove the Force flows through her and not a rock that stubbornly blocks its current. This trial was redundant as far as Bastila was concerned. The Force flowed through the Nagai like none she had ever seen. The Masters must realize this too, would they devise another variant on the test then?

The kath hounds on the lower plains were stirred up by the dark side. Perhaps Skye would be sent to investigate why. A test of Skye's spirit, her determination to stand against the dark side, a test normally reserved for the Knight trials. But then Skye was no ordinary Initiate.

"Bastila did you ever think about joining all the Jedi who were ruining off to follow Revan and Malak when they went to fight the Mandalorians?" Carth suddenly piped up around a mouthful of salmon stake which he shoved into the pocket of his cheek.

Bastila lifted her head, looking at the other human. "That was nearly five years ago. I was still a Padawan. My Battle Meditation hadn't even manifested itself. Yet even then I had the wisdom to obey the will of the Council, unlike _Revan_." Her eyes drifted to one of the large bay windows on the south-east side of the cantina. The view before her was of a lush garden but beyond it and the hillocks lay the Khoonda plans.

"I guess. Still do you ever wonder if things could have been different? Would Revan and Malak still have been corrupted if the Council supported them instead of dragging their feet?"

"Do not blame Revan's corruption on the Council!" The Jedi snapped, slamming her fist on the tabletop with enough force that it nearly toppled over several beverage glasses as well as knocking over the salt shaker Mission had just set down. "Your Republic saw only the threat of the Mandalorians. But the wisdom the Masters saw beyond the immediate threat."

Carth was about to retort but he was cut off by another. "What did they see exactly?" Mission pressed.

"There was something lurking out there, something that deluded Revan and Malak and so many other Jedi. Had the Council sent us all into the unknown, how many more would have fallen?" The Jedi's voice became wistful, drained and yet filled with so much palpable sorrow.

Carth's face contorted into an ugly angry sneer. "So you're saying we should have done nothing? Just let the Mandalorians conquer us unopposed? I mean the Republic was under attack and the Order abandoned us!"

Just as angrily Bastila shot back. "We did not abandon you! But the Council were not about to throw lives away foolishly. In time we would have aided you against the Mandalorians. But you couldn't wait. Revan and Malak offered a quicker answer and the Republic chose to walk the easy path rather than the path of wisdom. Now you see the results all around us. You asked me if I think things could have been different. I _know_ they could have! If Revan had only listened to the Council, millions of innocent people would still be alive."

"Yeah right and every single one of them would be speaking Mandalorian! I think we're done here."

"Wow Carth, either you have a real set on you or are you just that stupid?" Mission piped up. "When Skye finds out you were in Bastila's face again about Council not acting and about Revan going to war for your Republic she'll gut you for sure."

Ordo who had been lurking in the door way of the mess hall sat down with a tray leaden with food. "You have real issues Onasi, always looking to blame anyone for the wars. You get answers that don't coincide with your desired fantasy and you rant and rage. I thought you already leaned that lesson." The Mandalorian pointed to the scar on the other man's neck. "Of course Ravensong not being here to shut that pie-hole of yours makes you feel like a real man doesn't it?"

Carth growled. "No one was talking to you, Mandalorian."

"If you want tea-cosy responses then don't ask kriffing questions you can't take the hard answers to. In words you may comprehend better: frack off, you son of a two-bit-whore."

"My mother was no whore!" Carth snarled back.

"Then stop acting like a bastard." Mission mumbled.

Bastila to her amazement found herself giggling.

Carth snorted rose up and stomped out of the room.

"So when do we loose the dead weight?" Canderous asked. "Way past time to ship his sorry ass back to his precious Republic front lines."

"He tried." Bastila responded. "Apparently they don't want him back. He's been assigned to Ravensong's detail to see to this issue with the crypt and our efforts to uncover the secrets of Revan's power."

"Aint that just fracking peachy. You mean we're stuck with that slime-o."

"Unfortunately, he is the Republic military's representative on this joint venture." The Jedi answered Ordo's question.

"Skye's really not going to like that." Quipped Mission.

"It isn't up to her." Bastila silently rose up. 'I'm not too keen on it either.' "The Council and military brass have deemed it necessary." She too left the room, leaving her tray of half-eaten supper behind.

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The hilt of the saber floated before her at the level of her blue eyes. Emitter, power cell, the black primary crystal at the heart of the blade, both rubat and bondar focusing crystals, and the sleek silver hilt- itself already containing the mechanics and electronics. It was now only a matter of aligning it all.

The pieces came together, how perfectly was yet to be determined by its activation. Skye hit the activation switch. The familiar snap-hiss echoed within the cavern, the glow of black-purple light.

A smile spread across the Jedi's lips.

Now for her off-hand saber—a shoto. She would have preferred purple but viridian would have to do.

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"You have shown an impressive mastery of the Force." Master Zhar complemented as he held both Ravensong's blades. His eyes were completely hypnotized by the black-purple blade. "I have to admit I have never seen a crystal of that colour before."

"It awakened to me." Skye said watching the man carefully. "There was another within the cavern—very powerful and far more unique but meant for another." Skye gave no more hint of what she saw or felt within the cavern.

"Indeed?" Zhar deactivated the lightsabers and handed them back to the young woman. "You have made remarkable progress so far."

Skye kept silent for a moment before speaking. There was a burning need to know about her past, everything she couldn't remember, she wanted to know if the Masters blocked it out, took it away or if the incident on her former flagship had done greater damage to her than the healers and physicians could repair. If it was buried then perhaps shifting through the muck and detritus of the Masters' verbal obfuscation could reveal a bit of golden knowledge. After all, there is no ignorance there is knowledge. And the Masters had it.

"Master. I have questions about Revan and Malak; I was hoping you can clear some things up." Skye scratched the side of her face studying the man's body language though she doubted he'd given anything up in such a manner.

"Few speak those names around here any more." There was a sadness to the Twi'lek's voice. "But I suppose it is just as dangerous to deny that they were ever a part of the Order." He sighed. "When I was still on Coruscant, Revan and Malak often came to me for additional training. In particular Revan's hunger seemed insatiable. I should have recognized this as a warning sign. But I perceived the young Padawan's thirst for knowledge as simple exuberance and eagerness. Revan was my most promising pupil. One I felt sure would become a champion of the Jedi Order." The weariness in his voice had not abated.

"How did she fall?" Skye crossed her arms over her chest as she leaned her back causally against the wall of the dojo. The spot where the crystal had grazed her made her wince a bit but she shoved the pain aside for the need to know.

"The Jedi Order moved too slowly for Revan and Malak, we were too cautious in their eyes. They always sought to learn far quicker than their Masters felt was prudent. It is one thing to understand a lesson, but to truly comprehend it takes a wisdom that only comes with time.

"Several years ago, when the Mandalorian threat first arose, Revan and Malak were eager to journey to the Outer Rim to defeat the enemies of the Republic. But the Council felt that we should move with care and caution. The true threat the Council felt had not yet revealed itself. But Revan would not be dissuaded.

"Charismatic and powerful, it was inevitable that many of the Order would flock to Revan's seemingly noble cause. Malak was the first to join his closest friend, others soon followed. Many of our youngest and brightest became intent on saving the galaxy from the Mandalorian threat."

"Others like Meetra Surik, the one they call the Exile." Ravensong titled her head slightly to the right as if to give of an innocent vibe.

Zhar's mouth opened on its own volition before he snapped it closed. "You know her name then. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. Yes. Meetra joined. She was the second to do so. She was nearly as close of a friend to Revan as Malak was." Zhar shook his head. "It was speculated they were something more. They were foolish to disregard the Council's wishes. I do not know what happened to Revan, Malak and their followers including Meetra in the farthest reaches of the Outer Rim. But something corrupted them.

"Their ideals became twisted, tainted and they fell to the Dark Side. There is a lesson in this; you would do well to take to heart. The Dark Side can corrupt the most noble of Jedi."

"I will master. In fact you have given me much to contemplate." The Nagai surprised herself that she was sincere in her words.

"You have learned much but there is still much more for you to understand."

'Like the truth of what really happened to me' the woman known as Skye thought to herself.

"The way of the Jedi must be entered into with a clear and focused mind."

'Or in my case one fogged and amnesiac' again the thought was spoken only to herself

Zhar placed a warm hand on the young woman's shoulder. "Go now. Soon it will be time for your final trial to become a full Padawan. You will need your full strength to face it."


	14. Chapter 14

Beta Legend:

Original What I thought you were going for Suggestions/additions Things that can be removed/Notes from me.

AN : (Italicized single quotes is telepathy, regular typeface single quotations is inner-monologue)

Chapter 14

The one thing Skye wanted more at this moment was to have a shower and get the stink of kinrath blood off of her. When she had come back to the enclave she had gone directly to Master Zhar as he had instructed along the muck of battle and all.

Standing in the shower stall as the water poured over her shoulders down her still raw back, Skye felt each scornful stinging rivet of water trickle across the abrasions left by the crystals and the talons of the kinrath. She accepted the pain, welcomed it. It was a physical diversion from the pain inside her head, of the ramifications of what the Masters has done and why they had done it. What—Bastila had done.

"What did they do to me? Did they take all of my memories? Rewrite them? No-no they want me to remember them. Remember how I gained my power, but not remember being Revan. How much did they fuck with me?" Once more the former dark lord fell back, staggered by the reeling implications. This time it was the cool wet surface of the tiles of the shower stall rather than jagged crystal formations that kissed the flesh of her back. Was that Bastila's function? Was her function to insure just that, that Skye recall just enough information about Revan's amassing power but not being the Dark Lord?

Once more time evaded the Nagai but enough of it elapsed for the seemingly endless supply of hot water to turn to cold. She turned off the faucets and abandoned the refresher. Numbly she donned her Matukai apprentice robes; she had to find the answers but she had to do it the smart way. Not the Jedi way. But the way of the scout the Masters turned her in to. That meant asking seemly innocuous questions of the Masters here at the Enclave. All of them including the belligerent hypocritical hate-monger Vrook. By the Night Mother's frozen tits she hated talking that that fracking sleemo. Talking to him was like going into a quack Outer Rim dentist for a voluntary root canal without aesthetic—in fact that seemed more fun and far more pleasant.

First on the scout's list perhaps was the more approachable Master Dorak. The Chronicler was amicable enough, though he did prattle on a bit. He might be a librarian but he was no storyteller. Was it a wonder the novices in his history classes tended to nod off?

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"Have you come seeking knowledge of the past? Those that do not do not learn from history are doom to repeated it or so they say." Dorak said as Skye entered the archives.

"In fact I have," Skye said carefully monitoring the tone of her voice.

"As chronicler of the academy here on Dantooine I feel it is my duty to share the history of our Order the newly initiated. Unfortunately our recent history is one of tragedy and bloodshed. The Mandalorian Wars, the Fall of Revan and Malak, the Rise of the Sith, there are important lessons to be learned from these events if we do not wish to repeat the mistakes of our past."

Skye nodded. "Share away Master Dorak, I am eager to hear what you have to say about those past days." She kept her face neutral, schooled not giving away any hint she at the very least knew who she truly was. Once more she needed to know. There was so much of her past she couldn't recall. So much of it was fog, and lost.

"Of course I can not account for our entire history."

The Nagai smiled at the small joke.

"That stretches back thousands upon thousands of years. We are as old as the Republic itself. Instead I will begin forty years ago, with the war of Exar Kun. Like Malak and Revan—Exar Kun was once a Jedi who fell to the Dark Side and led an army against the Jedi and the Republic. Exar Kun was defeated but the war left the Republic and our own Order severely weakened. For twenty years we struggled to rebuild, trying to erase the scars of the terrible conflict."

"What has this to do with Revan?" the woman prodded, pushing the human into the direction she wanted the conversation to go.

"All things in time, Padawan. You will learn that history is an intricate weaving of many events. No one thing can be understood without the proper context. Twenty years ago the Mandalorians, aware that the Republic was in a weakened state, began conquering small worlds on the Outer Rim.

"They were careful to choose only planets outside the Republic's jurisdiction. After much debate Senate choose not to intervene. As long as the Mandalorians avoided planets that were not part of the Republic itself there would be no retaliation."

"So they left millions to die to their fate?" Skye was disgusted.

"Well you can hardly blame the Republic. The memory of war was still fresh in everyone's mind. No one was eager to relive the horrors of an extended campaign against the Mandalorians. But in the end it was unavoidable.

"The Mandalorians stockpiled resources from their conquered worlds, preparing for a massive assault. Seven years ago they launched a simultaneous attack in three separate systems within Republic space. The Senate had no choice but to retaliate with the entire Republic fleet. The Mandalorian Wars had begun."

"So when did Revan and Malak step in?" she said as she moved to one of the tables within the library and sat not on a chair but upon the tabletop itself.

"The Republic petitioned the Jedi Council for aid, but there were many factors to consider before we allowed ourselves to be drawn in by another conflict so soon after the war with Exar Kun. While the Jedi Council preached patience, there were many among our Order who were eager for us to join the battle. Two young Knights in particular demanded immediate action. Revan and Alek who later took the name Malak.

"They rallied many of the Jedi to their cause and against the wishes of their masters and joined Republic fleet battling the Mandalorians. Revan was a brilliant military leader. And the Republic Fleet began to win victory after victory. Four years ago the Mandalorians surrendered unconditionally."

"What happened next?" another gentle push. Skye leaned forward balanced her upper body weight on her elbows which she rested upon her bent thighs. Her deliberately duplicitous relaxed body language gave nothing away of the spinning thoughts in her mind.

"Revan and Malak were heroes, the great saviours of the Republic. A third of the Republic Fleet was under their direct command. And then something happened. Instead of returning after the War's end, the ships under Revan's command went deep into unexplored space. They claimed to be searching for the last remnants of the Mandalorian Fleet.

"All contact was lost. For many months it was assumed some great disaster had befallen the entire fleet. Everyone thought they were dead. There were unsubstantiated rumours that Revan and Malak had been seen on a number of different planets during these months. Scattered sightings that were never confirmed."

"What do you mean? What happened to them, where did they go?" Ravensong's body reflexively sat up straighter, her reaction this time not faked.

"Perhaps they went far beyond the edges of Republic Space; perhaps they found previously undiscovered hyperspace routes that led to the ends of the galaxy. No body knows for certain," Dorak frowned sadly. "Three years ago they returned at the head of a massive invasion fleet. Revan had assumed the title of Sith Lord: the hero had become a conqueror."

"Where did they get all the ships?" Of course this was the very question that plagued the Masters, why they allowed the 'Dark Lord' to live as Skye Ravensong—because they did not know. Right now Skye didn't know herself.

"Some of the ships they returned with were previously apart of Revan's command during the Mandalorian Wars. But many more were of an alien design we had never seen before. The source of this massive fleet is one of the mysteries about the Sith we cannot explain. It seems impossible to have created it in such a short amount of time. Yet we cannot deny its existence.

"The source of the Sith soldiers is unfortunately much easier to understand. Initially the bulk of the soldiers were apart of the forces under Revan. With each conquest thousands more flocked to join the invaders, swelling their numbers. Even many of our own Order have betrayed us. Lured by Sith promises of riches and power."

Skye nodded. "When did you decide to implement the plan to _kill _her?"

"The plan was to stop her, capture her if possible not to kill her. Jedi are not assassins, young one."

"What of the upper echelons? Within the ranks of the Consulars there are the Sages and then there are the Shadows. Do the Shadows not harness the Force to conceal themselves from the perceptions of others? And as a result these Jedi can move unobserved among their enemies—perfect for political assassinations and striking down your enemies from behind. I thought Revan was a Shadow."

"Yes that is so," Dorak said hesitantly. "The Shadows work from stealth and as their name implies- the shadows. It is why some feel they walk too close to the dark side. Master Kreia, Revan's first master and the one young Jedi who returned near the end was also a Shadow.

"Bastila, however falls under the classification of Knight and has chosen the ways of the Sentinel for her more advanced training. As I said the orders of Council were to capture Revan, not to kill.

"For two years the Sith were all but invincible. Fortunately for the Republic, Bastila and her Battle Meditation allowed her to win a few key victories and kept the Sith from total triumph. In desperation we set a trap for the Dark Lord.

"As you probably know she was there at Revan's end. That was nearly a year ago. But things have not improved. Malak has stepped in and assumed the mantel of Dark Lord for himself, though he is far from Revan's equal in both strategy or tactics. Still, his fleet continues to grow in both ships and soldiers. If we do not find some way to stop them, the Sith will overwhelm us with sheer numbers.

"Revan's tale shows us how even the greatest can fall to the Dark Side. You must always be on your guard against the evil that dwells with in you. Think hard upon this young Padawan."

"Believe me Master Dorak," Skye tilted her head in a slight bow, "it is the foremost on my mind."

"May the Force be with you."

"And with you Master," the Nagai said as she used her arms to hoist her body off the table. And with a slight bow of her dark-maned head she left the archives.

Her mind could not but help latch on to the phrase: 'The Dark Lord's end.' -not death- '_**end**_', so the Masters are definitely playing the 'it's the truth from a certain point of view' card.

She had just exited the lower levels of the Enclave when she heard: "I see you insist on roaming the halls of _our_ Enclave when you should be studying your lessons." An unpleasant voice growled behind the Nagai, in response blue eyes rolled contemptuously.

"Actually you're just the one I was wandering the halls of _your_ enclave to find. I wish to ask you some questions, about the past." Ravensong spun 180 degrees on the ball of her left foot in order to confront the old human face to face.

"I suppose such desires are inevitable. Though I fear you seek knowledge for which you are not prepared. But I will do my best to guide your quest." Congeniality from the man was an alien sound to the ears.

'Not prepared? Oh buddy-boy you have no fracking idea.' Verbally the former Dark Lord said: "I want to know more about Bastila."

"I should not be surprised you want to know of her considering your connection. Bastila holds great promise, and great danger. She can do much for the Council and the Order. Without her skill in battle meditation the Sith armada would have conquered the galaxy long ago. But despite her command over the Force she is still young. She's a Jedi—a Knight, but she has not yet gained the rank of Master. The Council would do well to remember this when laying the fate of the galaxy on her slender shoulders.

"And _you_ would do well to focus more closely on your lessons. The Force is strong with you but you need training and guidance in the ways of the Jedi lest you suffer a fate similar to Revan."

"The 'fate of Revan'? And what fate would that _be_ exactly, Master Vrook? Sending a slender shouldered Knight to assassinate me? Or falling to the Dark Side? Just what fate are we talking about here old man? Or perhaps you had something else in mind? I have to wonder what exactly are you implying about me?

"It is more than evident that you have an agenda either against me personally- which I can't even _fathom_ what it _is- o_r you are a bigot. Which is it? Because all your cryptic warnings sound awfully bizarre from where I'm standing." She smiled a mouth full of teeth, "It sounds like you have something to hide."

Vrook scowled. "You overstep your boundaries _Initiate_. As for bigotry, you should know a Jedi and especially a Master is above such petty things!"

"Jedi are mortal with mortal sins. Which means we are all fallible. Even Masters. And I seem to be able to push your buttons without even trying. So what gives, Vrook?"

"That's _Master_ Vrook to you, Initiate."

Ravensong bowed like a Sith acolyte before a Dark Lord. "As you wish-_Master_." The toothy smile returned. "With your leave _Master_, I shall return to my studies rather than wandering the halls of _your _Enclave."

Skye stalked away on heavy heeled feet, face-palming her own stupidity. Yeah she could push Vrook's buttons like no one's business but he pushed hers just as equally hard. She was fracking stupid showing her hand as she did. No pazaak player showed their deck like she had. 'Dumb dumb dumb, you stupid knife-ear! Why not just tell the sleemo you know who you are? FUCK!'

The black haired Jedi took in a deep steadying breath. 'Right. "There is no emotion, there is peace." Stick to that when dealing with that son of a motherless old-goat and you might actually retain the ground you gained. No more stupid mistakes, knife-ear.' she rubbed her forehead but it would do nothing to alleviate the headache amassing behind her eyes.

Finding anything more about Revan and Malak at this point was utterly useless. The Masters would tell Skye the same history with a different voice with the same warnings of the Dark Side crawling into her head like parasitical little bugs.

No, the path now was to find out more about Bastila. Revan might have known her but to Skye she was just-an acquaintance, a forced bondmate. When Skye sought out Master Vandar, Bastila was the only soul on her mind, the only one the scout cared to find out about. _Revan_—could wait.

Vandar was sitting upon his small circular cushion when the former Dark Lord approached him. She sat cross legged on the floor next to the impish figure waiting to be acknowledged.

"Master Zhar tells me you constructed your new lightsaber or should I say lightsabers. So you are to become a practitioner of Jar'Kai. I am not surprised." He smiled. "I am also to understand you found a rather unique crystal."

"Yes, a black one. Though there was another crystal there I might have liked better. I'd say I'd be envious of the Jedi who it is intended for but that would be an emotion and that would just be all kinds of awkward." Skye smiled. "Oh wait." she held up a finger. "Envious… that would constitute an emotion as well. Gee, two-for-oh… not batting a thousand here am I?"

To the Nagai's amusement Vandar chuckled. At first she didn't think the old guy had even heard of skyball. Apparently he had or at the very least the cultural reference. Not a surprise. half the core worlds played the sprot.

"It is not that Jedi are not to feel emotions but rather not to be dominated and controlled by them. You seemed to have grasped this concept rather well during your first trial."

Now it was Skye's turn to look amused.

"What seems to be troubling you young one?"

"Ah you know-questions. Always with the questions." A disarming cordial smile was accompanied by a child-like shrug. "Actually considering the bond I share with her, I'd like know more about Bastila."

The aged Jedi nodded and made to rub his chin as if to stroke the beard that wasn't there. "Bastila will be a great Jedi someday. Even amongst the Masters of the Council it is rare to find one so skilled in the art of battle meditation. Bastila was there when Revan was slain. Did you know that?"

'Slain? Not Revan's end—like the others? Slain? He actually used the _**word**_slain.' Blue eyes narrowed. "Yes she mentioned as much." 'So now here is the greatest liar of them all. Beware the demon, my child, that whispers sweetly. The bitterest of truths tastes better than the sweetest of lies.' Skye quoted the cantons of the Night Mother.

"Bastila, herself does not like to talk about it."

'Yeah, I bet.' aloud Skye said not a word.

"She was to accompany the strike team that confronted Revan when the Dark Lord was destroyed. Her role in the death of a promising young Jedi such as Revan upset her greatly. But Bastila knew she had to set her personal feelings aside for the sake of the galaxy and the Republic. The Force is **strong** with her now. And without her battle meditation we would have lost this war long ago. The way forward will be difficult for young Bastila and for you, but you must draw strength from each other."

So lost in his words Skye almost missed Vandar's next question. "Is there anything else you would like to know?"

For a moment Skye had no thought in her head, it was almost a shock to her when she realized her mouth was uttering words her hind-brain had no mind to utter. "Master Vrook doesn't seem to like me much. In fact he seems to have great disdain for me."

"Master Vrook may seem harsh and critical but he understands the dangers that lie in your path. He wants you and Bastila to be fully prepared when you finally face Lord Malak."

"I see. Thank you Master Vandar." As she had with Zhar and Dorak, she rose up with a nonchalant grace to her movements giving nothing away to her inner most thoughts and especially her emotions. She would not slip with the Grand Master as she had done with Vrook.

"Is there anything else young Padawan?"

"No." It was a clipped response. Of all the masters here at the enclave the Nagai had respected Vandar the most. But the lies were mounting up and the fact that the Grand Master said the 'death of Revan' and not the 'end' placed the proverbial last nail in the coffin as far as the former Dark Lord was concerned. They were all definitely playing the 'truth from a certain point of view' card very close to the chest.

This was not to Skye's mind a chance to go all vein-faced and Dark Side-y but she placed as much trust in the Council as she did Davik Kang. Though she knew both had something in common: in the end all they wanted to do was frack with her, use her and toss her aside. Skye wasn't about to let that happen while she couldn't do to the Council what she had done to Kang, the Nagai knew one thing was for certain: she'd be on her guard from here on out. And trust… yeah maybe that shit head Carth had something there. Trust was going to be a very hard community to buy back.

And damn that blasted ugly orange-jacketed-wearing human to oblivion for making her side with him on the whole "don't trust anyone" issue. 'Stupid human.'

"Very well. May the Force be with you." Vandar said in his prosaic voice.

This time the Nagai gave no acknowledgement of the words, she simply left.

KOTOR~KOTOR~ KOTOR~KOTOR~ KOTOR~KOTOR~ KOTOR~KOTOR~

Skye slipped out into the garden, perhaps seeking solace, and/or some piece of mind under the branches of the great oak. It had become something of a friend to her. She supposed it had become something of a friend to many.

Sitting there she felt her body slip deeply into a meditative trance. Her mind continued to circle around and around the truth of who she was. But who was she truly? The memories implanted into a damaged mind became more and more prominent. The vagueness of being Revan was like the far distant memory of a recalled dream of a child. The details are gone and all is left is the impressions the phantoms left behind.

"Oh I'm sorry."

A voice clattered against the Nagai's still mind so suddenly it caused the former Dark Lord to lose her concentration. She landed with an 'oof' on to the earth around the roots of the great oak.

"Oh Padawan I didn't mean to intrude, or make you fall."

Skye grimaced a bit; she had been a meter off the ground during her mediations when interrupted. She landed awkwardly on her shoulder and elbows incidentally hitting the funny bone on her right arm. Tingles shot up her arm making her wince all the more.

"It's okay." The scout looked up to the speaker and discovered a sandy brown-haired human near her, stretching out her hand to help pull Skye back to her feet.

"It was Belaya wasn't it?" Skye asked taking the offered hand and reclaimed her feet.

The human nodded. "Yes. You remembered."

Skye delivered a lopsided grin. "Well it's not often I get chewed out for being in the wrong uniform when I first walk into a building."

Belaya blushed profusely. "I do apologize again. But I was right about the Force being very strong with you." She smiled shyly, "I never mastered levitation during my meditations. And you seemed to do it without any effort at all."

Skye shrugged. "You'd think that is a rare feat. Bastila said she doesn't either. Guess with her battle meditations it be bad if she was suddenly jarred back to the mundane world by falling. I don't think about floating really, it just sorta happens. Maybe you're trying too hard. Just let yourself go, think about it as floating on your back when you're swimming. It's a lot like that actually. Put too much thought into it and you sink but relax and poof- you're floating."

The human gave a dry laugh that never reached her eyes. Skye was quick to note that expression on her face matched the distressed stance the senior Jedi held however carefully it had been concealed.

"I take it you weren't expecting to find someone here" the Nagai whispered softly.

"Err, no. There are always a few within the shade of the oak, it's just…"

"I'm in your favourite spot?" The Nagai offered.

Another nod. "Or… rather a good friend of mine… she is… lost…" Belaya sucked in a deep breath. "Please ignore me. I say too much. I should go." She started to turn away and retreat towards the dormitories.

"Wait!" Skye blurted. "Hey if your friend is lost… surely we can organize some kind of search…."

"Please…" Belaya held up a hand and shook her head violently. "It's not what you think. She has to return on her own… please I can not speak of it …" with that the human darted away but not before Skye noticed glassy eyes that threatened to shed unwanted tears.

Skye was left standing utterly baffled. Apparently she stood thus for quite some time for when Bastila came upon her the sun had started its long journey towards the western horizon though it had not quite settled upon it.

"I'd say you were lost in your own thoughts, although I can not fathom what they are."

The Nagai gave a start when she heard the refined accent of her bondmate. Almond shaped blue eyes grew large. She took half a pace back before regaining her composure. Suddenly she drew close to understand Belaya's sudden need to flee for Skye had no desire to face the human woman now.

"You would know my thoughts? Can't you just pluck them from my mind if you are so inclined?" Ravensong said with more venom then she intended. She looked into grey blue eyes, eyes that held secret betrayals.

"No… of course I wouldn't. Why would you think that?" Bastila could not keep the hurt from her voice.

Their gazes met Skye was the first to look away. "Never mind, I spoke out of turn."

But Bastila would not be so easily detoured. "Skye…" she took a step forward, the Nagai took a step back.

"I can feel your unrest… something happened in the cave didn't it?"

Skye looked up and shook her head. "I- I have to… to… not be here." Like Belaya before her Skye took off into the bowels of the Enclave, unwilling to discus what plagued her mind and heart.

Bastila started after her but stopped mid stride thinking better of it.

"That is the strangest thing..." a young Chagrian spoke.

He was so young his horns were only foot above his head and his twin lekku barely draped over his shoulders. Standing next to the young blue-skinned male was a Miraluka female who wore a slender sliver and blue visor over her non-existent eyes. Neither one of them could have been older than fourteen.

"What is strange Padawan Bintang?" She asked of the male, she knew the other one to be named Kium.

"Skye was talking to Knight Belaya only five minutes ago and she took off after they had a few words. And now Skye takes off just in the same way."

"Maybe something's wrong with the tree to make everyone so twitchy." Kium teased.

"Belaya?" Bastila frowned not because she didn't recognize the name but she couldn't imagine what the two had in common that she and Skye would be speaking about. Apparently the younger Jedi mistook her question for a lack of knowledge.

"Yes, you know the one; she was knighted three months before you arrived Knight Bastila," the Miraluka said. "You know about her and Padawan Juhani right? They had a tryst before another Padawan snitched on them to their masters and they were forced to stop. Belaya sulked in her chambers and Juhani took off into the plains."

"Yes I had heard of it." Bastila answered, "and as Jedi you should know better than to gossip like the common market rabble." Both youngsters looked down to stare at their feet in shame. "For your poor lack of judgement I instruct the pair of you to run a hundred laps around the Enclave."

"A hundred? But that's not fair!" Bintang pouted, his blue lekku twitching in agitation.

"Make it two."

The Chagrian lad opened his mouth to protest further but a hand was clapped over it from the young girl. "Shut up Bin, you'll make it worse."

"Listen to your friend, Bintang. She has shown wisdom for you would not like to run three hundred, I think. Now go and be back before the sun fully sets."

Both Padawans bowed and took off at a resentful lopping jog for Enclave's outside parameter.

The words of young padawans echoed in Bastila's mind drawing her back to a time when she and Revan… _her_ Revan had shared intimacies. How very secretive they were and how fortunate the only one to find out about them was Meetra who had her own secrets to keep. It could not have been easy for the knight to keep her relationship with a master secret: especially when said master was on the Council, and the relationship was of a romantic nature.

Bastila's heart went out to Belaya and Juhani, but better it end now than to be forced into a situation as she had been with Revan. Shan didn't wish that on anyone. Now of course her situation was far more precarious-to be linked with the person you once loved, one who had embraced the Dark Side, and now couldn't even remember who she was or what they had together. And it was killing Bastila to look into the eyes she once knew so well and see a stranger looking out of them.

Something happened to Rev… to Skye in that cave. She saw something during meditations amongst the crystals. Question was, did she see into the past or into the future?

KOTOR~KOTOR~ KOTOR~KOTOR~ KOTOR~KOTOR~ KOTOR~KOTOR~

Skye felt like a coward fleeing Bastila's side as she had but she couldn't face her at that moment knowing now who she was. The Nagai knew the whispered history of the closeness between Bastila and Revan but she had no memory of it. At least not now. She saw in those blue eyes the perpetrator of deceit and trickery.

She didn't want to see those lies continue to live in those storm-grey eyes. At least not right now. She wasn't ready to confront her bond-partner or even simply to pretend to go along with the charade and make believe like the rest of them that she wasn't Revan.

She had decided not to go in but out. Perhaps true fresh air outside the Enclave proper might clear her head. In addition of seeing two Padawans jogging around the building circumference, the former Dark Lord spotted an odd sight in Canderous and Onasi actually getting along or rather a distinct lack of not fighting. They seemed to be caught up in conversation with another man. A local by the look of is of his attire and a farmer by trade by the simple practicality of them.

As soon as the Nagai approached them the Farmer pushed past the other men and was on her with a verbal assault.

"You, Jedi! How long can you people sit by and claim to protect us? Protectors? HA! You sit in your enclave safe from the Mandalorians while we suffer!"

"What in blazes are you talking about? The Mandalorians have been pushed back," Skye frowned.

"No! They've been raiding planets and farms in this sector often. You Jedi think you drove them off because they haven't harmed you, while they steal our property and destroy our land and worse."

Carth moved up to Ravensong's shoulder. "I say we look into these Mandalorians. I've fought them in the war. They're nothing but vicious pirates. We… we should stop them, here."

"Those Mandalorian bastards killed my daughter after they raped her." The farmer continued seeing an ally in Onasi.

Canderous who stood on the other side of the Jedi shook his head. "You should have protected her better. And you call yourself her _father_."

"And what am I supposed to do against a dozen Mandalorians and Duros? Nothing! There was nothing I could do. They came to our land demanding our livelihood but Elsa, my Elsa said no."

"You let them take her?" Skye's voice was nearly accusatory as Canderous had been.

"I told you, there was nothing I could do! Like I said, there was too many of the Mandalorians and their Duros allies. I come here to ask you Master Jedi, please stop these raiders and get revenge for my daughter" the farmer pleaded.

"I'll see to it." Promised the Nagai

"I'll give you all that I have, just please annihilate them from the face of this planet."

"Bribing me isn't necessary." Ravensong asserted. "Who are you?"

"Jon, my name is Jon Valjean."

Skye nodded. Not that she particularly cared at this moment but it seemed odd to involve herself in a mission without knowing who it was she was championing, outside the civilian population of Dantooine that is.

Ravensong went back into the enclave intent on confronting the masters of this. She was incensed that the Jedi once again did nothing against the Mandalorians and this time the frackers were on their doorstep while Jedi Masters yet again sat on their asses.

Anger flooded the young Jedi before she squashed it down and reigned the passion in. Her first target was the two-faced Vrook. What excuse would he give? As chance would have it when she approached the Council Chambers the human was in conversation with the Grand Master.

"Once again you leave your studies Padawan. This has become a habit of yours." Vrook chastised the the dark haired Nagai.

"Maybe I decided not to shut myself up when I hear of the innocent dying like _some._" Skye's blue eyes blazed presumingly. "You allow rape and murder to take place on your own lands. Why? Tell me is there something darker at work here or are you lot simply cowards and will not put an end to the Mandalorians here on Dantooine?

"You continue to be defiant and disrespectful. Your arrogance will be your undoing." Vrook snarled.

"Yeah maybe. At least I actually take _my_ duty seriously. Are Jedi not protectors? So _**what**_ are _**you**_ going to do about it, if anything?! A farmer named Valjean's daughter—a girl named Elsa was violated and slaughtered before his eyes." Ravensong challenged.

"They have been harmless up until now. It is tragic that someone had to die before we took action." Vrook said in a gentler tone.

"But you _didn't _take action! If you had before now, no one would have died. No child raped!" Skye roared. "You just do not give a shit? You're no better than those Sith Masters at Korriban. No! You are worse. Because you are _supposed_ to care and you don't! By allowing these reprobate Mandies to land and pilfer, rape and murder, you are condoning them, sanctifying their actions by your inaction. Do something! WE are Jedi. WE protect! We do not allow wanton destruction on our doorstep!"

"You little ungrateful..." Vrook started but Vandar put his hand up stopping his fellow Master from speaking. He would not admit how it startled him to hear the exact same words coming out of Skye's mouth as they had Revan's so many years ago.

"I can understand your frustration young one at our _inaction_. But it is not because we lacked compassion or the gumption to act. As I said before now the Mandalorians were not a threat. We thought they would keep their activities down with our presence here. But it seems we were tragically wrong."

"I'll say." The former Dark Lord sneered. "But frack, you're tragically wrong about a lot of things."

Vandar sighed sensing there were more to the words the young Nagai said then what was before them. He studied her for a moment but her mind was well shielded. Perhaps it was the anger within her concerning the Mandalorian threat here on Dantooine, but for a moment the Grand Master could have sworn he saw a flicker of Revan behind those blue eyes. Of course it could have been the reflection of the words mirrored that caused him to see Revan standing before him and not _Ravensong_.

"You have our leave to deal with these Mandalorian raiders as you see fit, should you encounter them." Vandar finely said.

"Indeed it will be good for training your skills." Vrook nodded.

Canderous snorted. "Theses raiders are a disgrace. No true Mandalorian would stoop to raiding farms when whole worlds were ours to take."

"Ending the lives of rapists and murderers is more than just training skills, Masters. I will do what you should have done when those sons of Hutt's spawn slugs first hit dirt. I'm going to evict them."

When she turned away from the Council Chambers, Carth was the first to speak. "How are you going to _evict_ them?"

"I'm probably going to employ violence." She turned to him. "You want in?"

"You have to ask?"

"How about you Old Man?"

"I'll come along for the ride. Could be entertaining." Canderous commented. "Heard what your so called leaders said in there about good training. Maybe not for you Whelp, but I'm thinking maybe the kid could use some real experience."

Skye nodded. "Good thinking. And no doubt Big Z could do with a bit of exercise as well. Not healthy for anyone concerned keeping a Wookiee cooped up."

Canderous smirked. "Have to say Whelp, I liked the way you called those Jedi Masters out. Sounded like something Revan might have said when she rebelled against them. I'd bet a thousand credits from the look at that human he didn't much care for your attitude. Maybe you hit it a little close to home."

Skye frowned at the thought. "Have you ever been in battle with Revan?"

"Ha! I was there on the bridge of Mandalore the Ultimate's flagship when they battled and Revan took his head and his mask." Ordo proclaimed.

"Really?" The young woman bit her lower lip and took a breath. "Would you… would you recognize her if you saw her again?"

"Why? She's dead and besides she wore that grey and red mask of hers. It was just as iconic as Mandalore's helmet. In fact it's fair to say Mandalore gave her the idea to employ the mask in the first place. One hell of a tactician, though. Took that little spoiled Jedi princess's battle meditation to take the Revanchist down."

"You really shouldn't call Bastila that." Skye muttered half-heartedly as her mind chewed over the words Ordo had said. "At least behind her back." She rubbed the back of her neck. "Sooo you never saw her without the mask."

Ordo shook his head.

"What about you Onasi? You ever see Revan without her mask?

"No. Ordo's right. No one save for her closest confidants. Malak, well at the time he was called Alek and Meetra Surik and a handful of other Jedi had ever seen her without the mask. She was charismatic, powerful, and respected. She was called hero to most, at the time I even called her that. To others she was a brash crusader—but all soon referred to her as the Revanchist.

"That mask became a symbol to rally around. I don't know how many of our troopers painted their chest plates with the mask's markings. They even marked their faces in war paint to mimic the mask's look. But as for seeing her no up close, never did. I was in the same war room with her and her Jedi generals when she was coordinating strategies. But I never spoke to her. Skye, why this sudden interested in her? She became a traitor…"

"I don't want to hear your ranting of the past Onasi, and as for the interest-LOOK at me!" The scout narrowed her blue eyes on the human male. "I am the only Nagai since Revan to be a Jedi. Don't you dare tell me that you didn't even start to compare me to her or that anyone hasn't. I hear the whispers, the murmurs and I see the veiled looks. Maybe I just want to know how closely I resemble her."

Onasi opened his mouth to say something then thought better of it. He shrugged once before rediscovering his voice. "Yeah, I guess I can see why you'd want to know about her face. You can always ask Bastila… she knew Revan before-."

Ravensong grunted. "She- is less than comfortable talking about the woman she supposedly killed." The dark haired woman shook her head. "No. Let's just drop the whole thing and get the others and go Mandie hunting."

KOTOR~KOTOR~ KOTOR~KOTOR~ KOTOR~KOTOR~ KOTOR~KOTOR~

Exiting the Enclave grounds fully the three began their trek into the Khoonda plains. Zaalbar and Mission had yet to meet up with them but the two Tarissians had radioed back saying they were on their way.

The path now ahead, as Skye took time to look as she hadn't before when on the quest to find her crystal, was cut out between two hills. By the look of the rock faces she estimated that perhaps a millennia ago some natural disaster must have cut the vast hill in-twine and the 'ravine' had long since healed and became prairie land.

It was here that some traders set up shop as they were not allowed to sell their wears outside the Enclave's space port. Yes, they could have set up kiosks within the town outside the Enclave but there was enough traffic of young Jedi, farmers and other civilians to warrant the small stands.

Skye noted a Sullustan with a kiosk near his sky hopper as well as what looked to be a farmer no doubt she was selling a few of her crops. Roadside stalls like that always appealed to Skye as fresh vegetables and fruit were far better then synthesized crap any day. Not to mention that biting into a juicy juma fruit on a warm afternoon was a tiny bit of heaven. Skye loved the way the soft meat of the fruit burst in her mouth as soon as her teeth bit into it. Hopefully the woman had such offerings. From what they served in the mess hall, the young Nagai knew that some of the local farmers grew it.

Skye approached ready to spend a few credits-

"Oh thank the heavens you came! I was beginning to think the Jedi might have my denied request." The woman burst out as soon as she saw the blue Jedi robes and lightsabers.

'Damn… no juma fruit.' Skye pouted a little. 'And my mouth was all ready for it too. Blast.' She sighed. Might as well hear her out. "First, what is your name?" Skye shook her head; she was growing very weary of people running up to her expecting her to aid them without a proper introduction.

"Oh sorry Master Jedi, my name is Elise."

"Have you been to see the Council?" Skye thought perhaps she was yet another victim of the Mandalorian raiders. But that seemed unlikely as the woman was prime slave meat, they would never have let her go.

"Errr no. Not yet." the young human shook her head. "I spoke with a protocol droid. He told me I'd have to wait until he could present it on the agenda for the Masters."

'So it's nothing too dire. Of course those old goats didn't think the Mandies being here weren't dire threat either' the Nagai thought to herself. "Why don't you tell me what happened. If I am able I might be able to lend assistance."

It sounded like something a young knight might say even if said knight was only a padawan and if said padawan was actually an amnesiac former dark lord of the Sith. Still… good karma is good karma especially on this grassy rock.

"We were working my farm north of here. I was working in the garden outside and he was working inside. I heard the door to the house open but not close. I went to see and found it wide open." Elise was very near tears. Her voice was thick with it. "I searched everywhere, but I could not find him. I'm worried so much. I need him back so badly."

Skye's heart softened a little. On Taris a missing person might be easy to explain with the swoop gangs, Kang's thugs and the Sith skulking about on the streets above and below. And in the bowels of the planet there were all the rakghouls. But on an idyllic agricultural planet a missing person wasn't so easily explained. Then again this place was apparently crawling with rabid kath hounds, kinrath and bloody Mandalorian raiders.

"I wonder if he could have been kidnapped?" Elise echoed the Nagai's thoughts.

"Possibly. Do you have any enemies or rivals?" Onasi asked.

"Not that I know of. Err, none of my neighbours know he's actually there. Maybe it was the Mandalorians or maybe kath hounds." Elise frowned. "But no the door wasn't damaged and kath hounds are not intelligent enough to open doors." Her sun-tanned faced scowled. "Though they have been more vicious lately. No! It had to be someone capable of opening the door by himself. Come to think of it the door was locked."

Something about this wasn't right. If it was the Mandalorians, this grief-crazed woman would have been either taken or killed as well. So it was no Mandie. "Locked? So it could have been opened from the inside?" pressed Skye.

"Well yes it could have." Elsie confirmed. "But he had no reason to run away. His programming…"

"Wait!" Skye held up a hand. "'Wait a minute. His programming'? Do you mean to tell me your missing person is a droid?"

"Well yes." Elise nodded seemly confused as to why this was suddenly relevant. "He is a droid. But he is very important to me all the same. He is the last piece of my poor passed away husband that I have left. He is very _very _dear to me, my Precious."

Skye wrinkled up her face. Carth's mouth gapped and Canderous looked extremely puzzled and repulsed.

'Oh this is so so so wrong.' Skye thought. 'Eww a sex-bot? Really? She wants me to go after her sex-bot? A walking-talking vibrator? Oh come on I have better things to do. Frack I have better things not to do….'

"I don't know what I'd do without him." The human was trembling, tears freely falling from her eyes now.

'Err buy a real vibrator?' Skye's thoughts continued to make light of this woman's plight. 'They don't run away.'

"He's the only companionship I have on all of Dantooine."

"Yeah there's probably a reason for that sister," Canderous scoffed, "you're nuts."

Elise scowled ignoring him. Apparently she was quite used to such comments. Her great brown eyes begged the Jedi to listen. Skye did but not out of any sense of civic duty. It was humorous and having the day or rather days she'd been having it was good to have something to brighten the mood. Of course she was the only one desperately struggling to keep a straight face and by his pinched expression so was Carth.

"You're, er, very fond of it aren't you?" Carth said nearly losing his control over his laughter.

"_He _is a personal assistance droid! My husband was a genius at constructing droids. He made this one capable of taking care of me for the rest of my life." She sounded as if she were speaking of a lover not automaton. "As the last legacy of my husband and for my own personal peace of mind I. Need. Him. BACK! His absence gnaws at me like a gaping wound!" She was all but on her knees now.

'I'm not going to laugh. I'm not going to laugh…' Skye still struggled with not bursting out in hysterical giggles. Canderous had all but left the crazed woman and was striding down the grassy corridor the hills created to a Sullustan trader. Carth was wiping tears from the corners of his eyes caused by the pent up snickers. Give the man credit, he kept it together.

"PLEASE! I beg of you," Elsie fell to her knees cupping her hands before her chest looking so woebegone at the Nagai Jedi. "Bring my Precious… my droid back to me."

Skye took a moment to compose her voice. "My companions and I are hunting Mandalorians at the moment but I'll keep an eye out for your droid." It took all her scouting skills to say that with a straight face.

"Oh thank you! Thank you, Master Jedi!" Elise popped up and kissed Skye's hand as if she were royalty. "If you find him, send him home to me. Thank you so much!"

Skye disentangled herself from the human's grasp and took a healthy step backwards nearly colliding with Carth as she did so. He was close enough to whisper:

"She's a little gone upstairs isn't she?"

"And then some." Skye murmured back. "Rule number one when dealing with the crazies? Humour them."

"You know if this were a penny dreadful, I'd say she killed her husband after he made _Precious_ so she could keep him alive forever in that tin shell."

Skye stuck out her tongue as if tasting something foul. "Oh that's too twisted. But man I hope not. Kinda fits though doesn't it? Creepy."

Just was they were turning to meet up with Canderous and the merchant, Mission and Zaalbar came sprinting towards them. The Wookiee gave a curious look to the human female by the air speeder who was looking at the Nagai with the sort of hero worship gaze Mission sported, but he thought very little more of it.

"He-ey!" Mission waved to the older trio. "Glad we caught up with you before you hiked all the way out there. Got your message but Big Z was in the middle of his mid-evening snack and you know how hard it is to pull him away from food."

Skye smirked. "Yeah, damn near impossible."

"I am no glutton." Zaalbar protested though growls and grunts. "I'm still growing."

"Yeah sure you are. Sideways!" Mission snickered causing Skye to laugh with her. Zaalbar snorted a warning that he did not find the joke all that particularly humorous.

"Hey you two just missed it." Skye felt now free to express herself. "See that human lady over by the land speeder?"

Mission cocked her head a round to look for the person in question only to see the farmer wave at them or more specifically to Skye. The young Tarissian urchin gave a tentative wave back. "Yee-ah, what about her?"

Skye placed her arm around the younger female and as they started for the plains proper began relate the rather bizarre encounter much to the Twi'lek's delight. By the end of the tale all five of them were in hysterics- fortunately they were well out of Elise's earshot.

The companions did not have to wait long for violence to ensue once they had left the property boundaries of the enclave. Though it was not the two legged-well armed varieties but rather it was the four legged, strong jawed, many teethed sort.

"This is wrong." Zaalbar growled as the pack surrounded them. "We are many. They should not engage in a hunt."

One the horned hounds sprinted straight for Skye. She was quick enough to spin away from the jaws, her duel blades humming as she struck in a spiralling whirlwind. Striking, one-two-one shoulder, chest, head and she felled the beast. "Maybe you should try telling them that!"

Two of the hounds had flanked Mission seeing her as the weakest of their prey, Zaalbar was there in an instant, he flung his friend well behind him caught the first hound by the throat crushing it, and like a discus he hurled the carcass at the second hound.

One of the kath hounds lunged forward to impale Carth with its enormous claws, only to be deflected by the hardened chest-plate of his armour. Instead of being skewered and carried away, Carth was sent flying backward by the momentum of the beast's dive. He hit the ground and rolled several times before spring clamouring his way back to his feet.

Three more were on Canderous who was only just holding them off but laughing the whole time, loving every second of the battle. His massive Zabrak battle cannon shredded the hounds into so much wasted meat.

Skye charged for another horned hound not waiting for it to attack. She reached out to touch its mind, bring her will down with the crushing force of pneumatic hammers. The kath hound's body shuddered under the impact of her mental assault and it roared in an ear-shattering protest that pierced the still air and rose up over the grasslands.

"Call in." Skye said turning away from her kill.

"I'm okay." Mission piped up. "Little bruised when Big Z tossed me, but okay."

"Same here." Carth said.

"Good way to start the evening." Onasi piped up. "See you took out yours—no problem. Using your Jedi magic instead of your blades? Not exactly sporting is it?"

The former Dark Lord said nothing.

"She stopped them as a Jedi. What does it matter how?" Zaalbar growled which earned him an appreciative look from the one who held his life debt and a smile from Mission. Not able to understand Shyriiwook neither human responded.

"You were right Zaalbar. This isn't normal hunting patterns for kath hounds. I can see them going for one or two sentient stragglers maybe but not in our number. And they should have never gone after us with you in our company. They should have seen you as a superior predator Zaalbar. They are more vicious, just like that woman Elise said.

"It's likely that we're gonna run into more crazed packs." Canderous said slinging his mini cannon onto his back. "Think maybe the village has a bounty on their heads? We could clean up. Or are you too Jedi now Whelp to accept awards? If you are I claim your share if'n there is a bounty."

Skye snorted a mockingly. "If you intend to make claims on a bounty best take proof of the kills. Incisors should do the trick but ahh-I thought you were done with taking money for training exercises."

Canderous snorted in the correctness of the Whelp's words. Damn, too long on Taris it poisoned him for a moment. "Humph. Just so you know if we come across a pack of rancors, I'm claiming bounties on those ugly ass things."

"Fair enough." The former Dark Lord smirked. "Easy way to take them out is to use a back pack filled with meat dusted with pheromones and bunch frag grenades. It blows a cave-sized hole in their guts."

"Yeah that's how we took out Fido that was in the sewers." Mission piped up. "BLAM!" The girl threw her hands into the air, "Rancor guts everywhere. It was awesome."

Just as the Mandalorian was about to respond Skye held up a closed fist signalling for silence. "Over the next rise. I'd say we found our raiders."

"How many?" Carth asked in a hushed tone.

Skye stretched out her mind using the Force to sense sentient life just beyond the ridge. "I can feel seven maybe eight of them." She turned to her crew. "We take them like a tauntaun. Mission, Carth flank them from the left. Canderous, Zaalbar take the right. We strike them from both sides like the horns of the tauntaun. I'll take point become the 'head' and gain their attention. As soon as they respond either with guns or their mouths you will strike." She motioned with her arms starting out stretched behind her then coming out in front of her chest. "Just like a charging bull.

" Mission, I want you to go cloaked. Slide mines under any of their vehicles, then get out. Canderous do what you do best with that 'peace-maker' of yours. Zaalbar, Carth- both of you use rapid fire pinning them down. We take swiftly. No doubt they will have energy shields on, I want sonic changes lobed at them first, take down their shields as quickly as possible. Once you are in position fire at will. Mission, when the mines are in place fall back."

By placing two rapid fire gunslingers on opposing flanks with a heavy hitter and a saboteur, the Mandalorians had no hope of evading their inevitable fate. It was a solid plan. One Canderous found all too familiar... as did Carth.

Revan had used the same horned-tauntaun attack against the Mandalorians several times. In each time whether in space or ground-side, it was a very effective manoeuvre. One that was difficult to counter. Of course the Revanchist had far more numbers than just the five they were today but the theory was the same. The tauntaun formation comprised of three phases.

The 'head' was first. Troops were usually displayed with twenty soldiers in the center comprised into four rows of five which made up the head of the formation, then with two groups of fifteen warriors who where the fastest and most dexterous became the 'horns'. The 'head' advanced first with the 'horns' hidden behind it, this was phase one. Phase two was simple enough: when the command was given the 'horns' swept out on both sides flanking their targets. Phase three: the horns will encircle the enemy and close in and pin the enemy forces down.

The largest reserve however was the 'tail'. Which was placed, seated behind the 'head' with their backs to the battle. The 'tail' would be committed wherever the enemy threatened to break out of the encirclement. The scheme was elegant in its simplicity, and well understood by the warriors assigned to each echelon. And it had devastating effects.

On the plains of Khoonda the effectiveness was put to the test. As ordered Mission and Carth scuttled to the left keeping hidden under the grassy knoll, likewise Zaalbar and Canderous took the right. They need only wait for the signal from their leader to strike.

Armed with lightsabers in either hand Skye pulled deeply from the Force and empowered her body with its essence. She leapt over the rise just in time to hear a quivering farmer begging for his life. She was about to intervene when she heard him tell the Mandies to take his wife and daughter to do what they wanted to them if they'd only spare him. Disgusted with the human's betrayal of his family the former Lord of the Sith allowed the Mandie to kill the bastard before she allowed her presence to be fully known.

"What do we have here boys?" Said the one who killed the farmer. Apparently he was the appointed commander of this squad. "A Jedi playing hero."

"I am no hero." Skye hissed. "I am simply Jedi." The Force already rippling through the Jedi's body surged out from her finger tips in the form of emerald lighting. The bolts engulfed the lieutenant's body in agonizing electricity. It crippled him, bringing him to his knees, his cries echoed across the grasslands.

"Shoot her! Shoot her!" One of the Duros screeched over the cries of his dying sergeant.

As planed the 'horns' shot out from both sides Carth and Zaalbar continued to fire volleys into the nest of pirates. Canderous followed his Wookiee companion, his cannon delivered slower but more powerful shots cutting into the main body of the enemy drawing their attention.

Like a child tossing a toy frisbee, an invisible Mission flung frag mine after frag mine under the sky hoppers and swoop bikes, somersaulting away as she cried out "Fire in the hole!"

The companions took cover as ordered. The Mandies reacted to the call as well just as Skye knew they would. It was their undoing. Motion sensors in the mines blared to life.

In nanoseconds they set off an explosive chain reaction. In a single glorious mushroom cloud of destruction: vehicles and raiders alike became not but shrapnel of blood, bone meat and metal.

Skye smirked, pleased with the results. "One squad down, lets find out how many more of these sleemo Hutt-slugs we have to finish off. Canderous access their logs; they have to have a base of operation close."

"Access their logs? How you blew up their vehicles."

"To be fair, Mission did." Ravensong said a little flippantly. "And that arm over there still as an operating comm. I assume you still remember Mandie comm-shatter. Use it." the voice was now one of command. Ordo obeyed.

"Skye, your lightsaber—I've never seen one like that." Carth said coming up to the Jedi. "A black blade? I didn't even know saber crystals came like that."

The Nagai shrugged with a smile, "Yeah well the Force is just full of surprises. It's the crystal that called to me." She activated the blade with a snap-hiss. It hummed in the air when she displayed a small flourish. She disengaged it and strapped the hilt to her belt.

"It sorta makes the white of your tunic glow." Mission smiled. "It's actually kinda cool. It reminds me of the black lights in the cantinas. It has the same purplely glow"

"Purplely?" Skye cocked an eyebrow.

"What? It's a word."

Skye gave a near parental shake of her head and rolled her eyes.

Cancerous looked to the Whelp… and shook his head. How she got him to obey and scrounge amongst dead flesh for a comm he didn't know. He hadn't even hesitated, he just did it. It had nothing to do with the fact she was a Jedi. She was a natural leader. A general. Just like Revan.

"I found two locations, Whelp." Ordo called out reminding himself perhaps that he didn't have to kowtow to the Jedi. "And the possible location of their base camp. The only way to know for sure is if we take out those smaller bands, if nothing else it will call their leader out. He's not a proper Mandalorian, but if he has any kind of honor he will demand a challenge against the one who took out his men."

"That's exactly what I'm counting on. Where are they?" Skye said walking towards the older sentient.

"Looks like there's another batch on the west side of the Matale grounds, we already took out the ones in this grove and there's a third squad stationed in a south-central of the Sandral estate."

Skye nodded. "And their leader?"

"Someone named Sherruk. Never heard of him, and there is no clan listing." Canderous gritted his teeth and the sheer audacity of these creatures that dare call themselves Mandalorians. He'd have their heads for that insult alone never mind the pathetic raids on this little agro-world. "As I said they're not proper Mandalorians. They're rouges. Cast out from what ever clan they had blood with."

KOTOR~KOTOR~ KOTOR~KOTOR~ KOTOR~KOTOR~ KOTOR~KOTOR~

Alone in her chambers she shared with Skye, Bastila went to the far corner on her side of the room and pushed away a book shelf, then stretching out her hand she used the Force and caused a section of the floorboards to shift and move aside revealing a small cavity. Within the darkened hole the young knight pulled out a metallic box.

It was a unique security depot-box that did not require a key but rather the Force to unlock. It was in this aspect not unlike a Holocron. The young Sentinel sat quietly with her legs folded tailor style as if meditating and rested the box upon her lap. Placing her palms on the seemingly plain and unadorned surface of the box Bastila focused her mind as she would with a Holocron within the archives. The Force rippled through her soul and out from her fingertips and fused into the locking mechanisms. Cogs and gears turned like an old-fashioned clock-work toy. The surface of the lid changed, shifted and with a final click opened.

Bastila opened her eyes and looked down, within was an object covered in black cloth. Hesitantly she lifted her prize free and gingerly unwrapped it. In her hands was Revan's mask. The knight had taken it when the strike team captured the critically wounded Dark Lord. Bastila never told the Council she had it. No doubt they would have made her either surrendered it to them or worse destroy it.

The human Jedi didn't know why she had kept it after Revan's fall. Perhaps she sensed even then their fates were intertwined. It symbolized Revan's dark past—a relic from a time when the great hero had become lost. Now Bastila feared that if she showed Skye the mask it might trigger something inside the Nagai's mind. It might awaken some dormant evil; rekindle the spark of the dark side and unleash the Dark Lord of the Sith.

Bastila wanted to keep Revan's past at bay. Maybe it was selfish on the young Jedi's part. Maybe it was just fear. Skye was becoming another person, free. Someone Bastila admitted she started having feelings for.

Revan was gone. Had to be gone. Human fingers traced the sleek lines of the scarred red-and-grey faceplate of the worn helmet. Few had ever seen Revan without it during her time in both the Mandalorian wars and during her time as Darth Revan.

Lifting the mask, Bastila closed her eyes and placed it over her head. A moment later her blue-grey eyes opened to see the world as Revan had nearly a full year ago.

Quietly, a Jedi Knight wept for the woman who was lost, for all that had happened. She felt shame in her despair. She was a Jedi and was supposed to be above such things. The golden mantra ran uselessly through her mind.

'There is no emotion: there is peace.'

This thing with Skye was that it had Bastila repeating the words over and over again. Daily if not almost hourly.

Taking the mask off, Bastila reverently re-wrapped it in the black sackcloth and placed it back into its box. Once more taking great measures to insure it remained carefully hidden. The last measure was to banish all thoughts of the mask from her mind so that its existence could not be plucked from her thoughts.

It was strange that it was the thoughts of another couple's troubles that brought her to this low state. Juhani and Belaya's love affair had been found out, exposed and the Masters ordered it to be extinguished.

But in its termination, it had caused a ripple effect. Belaya fell into deep disappear and Juhani had run. The Cathar's Master Quatra had given the younger woman a day before she set out after her. Belaya's master simply allowed her displeasure in her student to be known but allowed Belaya time to recover herself and remember to be a Jedi. That as a Jedi she was forbidden such base attachments, such as the affection and love of another.

Bastila wondered should something ill happen to Juhani what then would become of Belaya? The younger human already displayed her resentment to the other student that informed the Masters of the affair. Shan could not help but wonder if Belaya was not pondering abandoning the Order altogether. She surly would if Juhani fell.

Bastila argued with her inner thoughts, she for so long trusted the wisdom of the Council. Clung to the safe advice desperately- they were right, they had a greater understanding of the Force.

But what-what if Revan… no no no. Skye. Her name is Skye now! What if she were right? In their wisdom the Masters have forgotten what it is to be sentient. What works well in esoteric philosophical theory does not often translate into the real world.

NO! Trust the Code! Trust the Masters!

'There is no passion, there is serenity. There is no chaos there is harmony. There is no emotion there is peace.'

Damn and blast it all! The Council didn't share a Force-bond with Skye Ravensong, did they? What did they know? Skye was all passion, extremely chaotic and chalk-full of emotion and it was bleeding into Bastila.

Right now Bastila could feel her bond partner's exhilaration, excitement of battle, her pride and protectiveness toward Mission and Zaalbar. And it was all very… becoming. Bastila secretively, vicariously allowed the rush to wash over her, through her.

It made her feel human. It made her feel alive.

KOTOR~KOTOR~ KOTOR~KOTOR~ KOTOR~KOTOR~ KOTOR~KOTOR~

By the time the companions crossed paths with the leader of the rouges the heavens were swathed in oranges, deep set reds and deep golden colours of sunset. Only the sounds of the early eve settled around them: insects, baying of kath hounds and the swish of tall grass along cloth and mettle clad legs.

"Well, well, well what do we have here?" Skye drawled as she approached the red armour-shelled leader of the band of rabble-rousers. Her elegant face was a mask of cold-blooded concentration betraying no sign of the relentless anxieties troubling her mind.

She and her team had taken out the last of the two wing squads leaving only Sherruk and the raiders he had with him to deal with. The loss of his men no doubt rankled the leader to the lengths of his anger. Skye needed to push him just a bit further.

"Are we playing dress up as Mandie pirates today or did your mommies actually let you out of the house looking like that you sodding bunch of milk-drinkers?"

The smirk on the Nagai's face nearly unhinged her foe. The others drew their blasters. Rage rippled trough them like a bad rash touching one, then another then another until they were all growling and gnashing their teeth waiting to fire on the bitch as soon as the word was given.

"Milk-drinker?! You fucking little knife-ear! I will drink your blood Jedi-whore. I will add your head to those of the other Jedi I have killed, and take yet another lightsaber for my own! Now you will know why the Mandalorians are feared!"

Canderous grinned broadly. "Now this is what I've been waiting for!"

"Apparently you can't count. I have two sabres and you're not getting either one. But you speak well." Skye shouted back to Sherruk in his native language which clearly shocked the rogue and his followers as well as Canderous. The insult hit the so called Mandalorian harder and deadlier than any blaster bolt and caused the others to gasp. Mandalorians were warriors; they had nothing but contempt for diplomats and politicians. The former dark lord had just implied Sherruk was nothing but talk.

Skye was all triumphant smirks now. "Maybe that's why you are only capable of shooting pathetic spineless old men, unarmed farmers and raping children. You're so busy running your mouth."

That did it! Sherruk- utterly enraged- bellowed a scream of complete hatred and blindly rushed the Jedi.

Exactly as she wanted him to.

Her orders were clear, wait until Sherruk rushes her and attack without impunity on his lackeys. That bastard was hers.

Sherruk opened fire almost immediately with his carbine. Skye's reactions were faster, she snapped off to the left to dodge the blaster-fire, deflecting them back, then reversed her direction with a flying salmon leap toward Sherruk. As she had in the Taris arena, Skye plunged the black blade through the vulnerable joint between chest plate and the right pauldron of his hardsuit. It cut far more easily into the meat of his flesh and bone. Instead of dislocating and breaking the collarbone as had happened with the metal vibroblade, the lightsaber's plasma blade severed the appendage and drove directly into Sherruk's heart.

The man was dead before his faceplate smacked into the hard grassy turf of the hill.

Ordo was impressed with how swiftly the Whelp had dispatched her enemy. The more he watched her the more he was reminded of Revan. He was reminded vividly of that day on Mandalore's bridge when the Jedi General had done a similar technique on his leader. The difference was that the Revanchist had allowed Mandalore to live long enough for him surrender.

Like Revan, Skye wasn't afraid to kill but Canderous saw that she took no pleasure in it. Even before she was accepted within the ranks of the Jedi, Ravensong did not relish her kills, she simply preformed them almost as a predator took a prey, there was no malice or remorse in what she did, she simply did. It was instinctual.

"Find what you can on the bodies." Ravensong gave the order was if she were a scout rather than a Jedi. For her own part she kicked the body of her kill over and reclaimed the lightsabers the rogue Mandalorian had boasted about.

Having returned her own to her belt, she ignited both: one blue, the other green. A thought popped through her mind like a rubber ball held beneath the water then released. Did one of these sabres belong to Belaya's lost friend? She wouldn't know the answer to this question until she returned to the enclave.

To ask Belaya to identify the sabres was crass and insensitive. No, Skye knew she had to present the weapons to one of the Masters. Besides, Ravensong concluded, she could confront them with their lack of initiative to safeguard their own planet. Not only had they allowed the murder and rape of the people who looked to them for protection, the Jedi had failed utterly to watch over their own. Such actions were worthy of the Sith, not the so called self appointed Guardians of the Galaxy.

Skye looked to the hilts in her hand. She concluded they must have belonged to Padawans. Skilled yes but not yet fully trained. It was only due to her numerous years spent in the Monastery of the Night Mother was Skye a sword master. Newly promoted Padawans were barely more than Younglings: most were only thirteen years of age.

They did not have such generous benefit of skill and technique as a fully trained Jedi or even a sword-master. And a lone young Padawan against such overwhelming odds made for easy prey, even if they were exceptionally gifted in the ways of the Force.

KOTOR~KOTOR~ KOTOR~KOTOR~ KOTOR~KOTOR~ KOTOR~KOTOR~

Trekking back across the grasslands did not take as long as when the companions first started out as they reclaimed the Mandalorians speeders. The vehicles had not been destroyed as had their predecessors in previous encounters not simply because there were very few mines or grenades left to utilize but because it was a waste of resources.

The tauntaun tactic had not been deployed against Sherruk as it was impossible to surround him. Rogue or not, the Mandalorian had strategically positioned his crew against a stone wall, cliff and barricade of standing stones.

Instead of allowing the enemy to bunker down Skye had lured the enemy to rush them into an ambush. Where the three men caught the Duros and Mandies in a cross fire while Mission, under the cloak of her stealth generator, snuck behind the raiders and planted the last of the mines so when they were forced to retreat they blew themselves up. She also managed to sneak live grenades on to two of the Duros persons –in seconds they were not but green paste.

Though swift the trek back home was not completely uneventful.

The rush of air in the ears, the whine and hums of swoop bikes and hoppers did not drown out the sounds of battle over the grasslands. Deep throated growls and the clank of mettle revealed the combatants to be kath hounds and a droid.

For a moment the companions were almost content to watch or perhaps assess the situation before engaging. The droid would have been outnumbered if only one hound attacked it, but it was up against seven of the red manned slathering canines. It would be scrap before long. Skye pounded for a moment allowing beasts to have it. It was only for a moment.

"Take over!" She ordered the Twi'lek girl sitting behind her on the swoop bike before she sprung from the saddle straight into the air, somersaulted and landed with the nimble eloquence of a tusked panther. So inhumanly smooth and graceful that she appeared to be striding briskly away before her black leather boots even touched down upon the grassy earth.

With a snap hiss the black blade came to life attracting the attention of the nearest bitch. The hound left its prey, lunging for the Nagai instead. Swirling around Skye charged forward with a burst of speed to deliver a vicious two-handed slash of her blade that cleaved through bone and sinew- cutting off the head in a single stroke. As the creature fell to the ground, Skye thrust her free hand out toward the nearest beast, palm open. Two of hounds flew backwards, lifted off their paws and hurtled across the plains by the Force until they slammed into earth far across the knoll. They did not move again.

With the kath hounds' attention focussed on the Jedi wreaking havoc in their pack, the hounds completely ignored the other lifeforms. The four companions took full advantage of the situation, driving forward they opened a barrage of blaster fire from the sky car and swoops bikes mounted cannons. The volley of blaster bolts completely engulfed the pack, shredding the remaining wild dogs into shreds of so much wasted meat.

While the others waited in their vehicles Skye approached the droid with some curiosity.

"Thank you for saving me Master Jedi. I am Ceefour-Two a personal assistance droid." The automaton introduced itself in the high formality usually only found in protocol droids.

"Why where the kath hounds attacking you?" asked the Nagai Jedi.

"Who knows? They have been very aggressive of late. I am sorry I seem a bit abrupt but I must be moving along. I am rather in a hurry." The droid said cordially.

"You're not an Enclave droid. Where are you going to?" Skye watched him.

"It is not so much where I am going to as much as where I am going from. I believe my human has become too attached to me. Obsessed really."

"Oh, you must belong to that woman Elise."

"Yes. You must understand Master Jedi she tried to treat me as her dead husband. It was not healthy for her."

"Yeah no kidding. So er... she treated you like her husband… um all the time?"

The droid shuddered, actually physically shuddered. "You do not want to know."

"Probably not." Ravensong grimaced.

"She's obsessed, rarely sees other people. She has fixated on me as her dead husband. She was becoming more and more insular." He sounded almost sentient. "I thought it best that I leave. She would meet other people this way. In fact that was the reason I came out here and sought out those kath hounds."

"Hold on a minute you sought them out. What, so they can destroy you?" came an incredulous question from the Jedi.

"Yes. I cannot self terminate. I thought it best if I was no longer factor. She would meet new people, real people. Please will you destroy me?" C4-2 pleaded.

Skye thought about it for a moment. "As much as your thought was a good one this could cause her to become even more unstable. You should go back to her. She's lonely and needs your support. Maybe you can convince her to see other people, in fact if she sees you as her… um… husband you can in regard urge her to do so. And what if you being scrapped makes her so unstable she commits suicide?"

"I think you're right. How could I be so selfish? I must not think only of myself but of her. She must be so frantic."

"You don't know the half of it." Skye muttered.

"If she lost me she would be devastated. I know she will do self-harm. I cannot allow her do to that. I must return to her. It is my duty!" C4-2 declared valiantly. He scuttled off as swiftly as his cobbled legs could carry him.

"So we saved a droid." Canderous sneered, "What gives?"

"Something to do." Skye smirked.

The answer didn't seem to impress the others. "Look it belonged to that Elise woman. You know the one who's a little bonkers over her 'Precious'?"

"She's a little off her game." Carth said. "So that clanker belonged to her, ehe? I have to admit I'm a little tempted to see how this plays out."

Skye nodded. She was intrigued as well; if nothing else it would be entertaining. That however was not foremost on her mind. It was the bizarre actions of the kath hounds. Ravensong shook her head. Something was definitely very wrong and it wasn't the psychosis of a very lonely and slightly demented woman. "They shouldn't be doing this."

"They do not smell of disease." Zaalbar barked.

"No, I don't detect it either. Neither rabies nor distemper but something has stirred them up."

"It's like the other packs," Mission kicked at the head of one of the hounds. "How many is that now we've put down? Five?"

"More like nine." Carth piped up. "So if they're not plagued what is it?"

"Oh they're plagued just not by disease," the Jedi said. "They've been tainted by the Dark Side for sure. I can feel it. All of them. They should have left that droid alone or ignored it as landscape as much as a rock, log or tree. The most aggressive thing they should have done was to piss on it. Even a pup after biting it the first time should have left it be as something not to be eaten."

The Nagai's blue eyes narrowed. First the Mandies touch down without so much as an opposition from the Jedi now kath hound packs were running amok tainted by the Dark Side. And what were the Masters and other jedi doing about it?

Nothing.

Why?

It made no sense to the young warrior. She wanted answers. Then again she wanted answers for so many things of late and wasn't getting any of them. This was just another question that begged to be answered.

Zaalbar lumbered over to one of the hounds' corpse and picked it up and slung it over his great furry shoulder. And did the same with another hound over the other shoulder

"What on earth are you doing?" Onasi demanded of the Wookiee who growled his answer back to him.

The human looked to Skye or Mission to translate as he didn't understand Shyriiwook.

"Dinner," Ravensong translated. "And no, I will not field dress them with my lightsaber. You want to gut them, do it yourself." She tossed him one of her small concealed daggers.

"Hold on?" Carth shook his head, "You're actually letting him eat a kath hound."

"Let him?" Thin eyebrows shot up to a dark forelock. "You want to tell an eight-foot tall Wookiee what he can and can not eat? You're far more foolish a man than I gave you credit for," Ravensong chastised the human male.

Zaalbar snorted challengingly, if a snort could be called a challenge.

"Um, good point." Carth held up his hands in surrender. "Good idea. Let him eat whatever he wants."

By the time Zaalbar had field dressed both his catches, the sun had truly and fully set. All vestiges of its golden-orange glow had slipped away and disappeared leaving the sky bathing in purples and blues and starlight.

Strangely enough when they arrived to the back entrance of the Enclave and the turf covered byway, C4-2 hand only returned to his Mistress's side if her exuberant hugs were any indication.

Spotting Skye, Elise let go of her droid long enough to wrap her arms around the Nagai and give her a rather sound and fierce bear hug. Which was a feat in of itself considering Skye was still mounted on the swoop bike.

"Oh thank you! Thank you! I don't know what I would have done if I lost him."

Elsie let go of the Jedi and returned to the clanker's side. Once more she hugged her droid and kissed him on his mettle cheek. She leaned her own against his chassis.

"No problem," said Ravensong. Suddenly making the droid go back to her seemed to be a very very bad idea.

"It's just so good to have him back! We're going to go home right now and celebrate aren't we my lovely little droid?" She stroked his chassis as a lover might.

Mission and Carth gave a dubious look to one another then cast their gaze to their leader then to Elise who was still crooning over her droid.

"Don't worry I'm going to oil you, hug you, care for you and make sure you never get away again," she purred stroking the droid.

"Please kill me." C4-2 implored to the Jedi.

"You know I don't think I've ever felt so bad for a droid before," Carth frowned.

"HA!" Canderous laughed boisterously. "I guess that droid will really _serve_ his master tonight."

"Oh that is just all kinds of wrong." Mission grimaced. "She's not going to make him…um… you know… do the nasty?"

"Five will get you ten she will." Skye scrunched up her nose. The Jedi scout liked droids well enough, tinkering on them but there this was going a bit too far. "Come on, side show's over." Skye dismounted the bike. "We have a few things to finish up. Um Zaalbar, I don't think the Jedi would appreciate your butchering skills inside the gardens. Take the kills back to the _Hawk_ and finish dressing them there. But. Not. Inside. I don't want the stink of a butcher's shop in my ship. Mission make sure Big Z stays out of trouble.

"Canderous, Carth see what you can get for air car and put the swoop bikes in the cargo hold along with the one that's already there. Never know they may come in handy. I have to see a farmer about dead Mandies and turn in the sabres to Master Vandar."

KOTOR~KOTOR~ KOTOR~KOTOR~ KOTOR~KOTOR~ KOTOR~KOTOR~

"Recognize these from any more missing Jedi?" Skye said dropping the lightsabers on the floor where they rolled to a stop at Master Vandar's feet. "I took them from the corpse of a Mandalorian you didn't deem a threat."

Bastila who had been in conference with the Grand Master stared at the fallen swords. "You're terrible!"

"Not as terrible as ignoring a problem and allowing it to fester and become a pustule. Knight Belaya lost a friend; she's very concerned- I want to know if one of these lightsabers belongs to that friend."

The impish green Grand Master picked up one saber then the other. His face darkened a shade before he looked up the young woman. "No, neither of these sabres belongs to the person in question."

"Are you certain?"

"Most certainly."

"Then who do they belong to?"

"I do not recognize them immediately as belonging to anyone within this Enclave."

"So no one else is missing?" Skye narrowed her eyes starring at the older Jedi before her.

The aged master nodded his head.

"There is a distinct possibility this man was lying or bought recovered lightsabers from the war on the black market," offered Bastila.

"I doubt he bought them, might have stolen them from a black marketer or taken them after he killed him. Sherruk didn't strike me as a fair-trade sorta guy." Ravensong looked to the iconic weapons of Jedi and Sith alike. "You know it's a good thing most Jedi are snatched from their families at an early age and made to forget about them. Makes awkward moments like this irrelevant, you don't have to explain to loved ones you misplaced their daughter or son. Of course telling them that 'Oh sorry we didn't think the Mandalorian raiders landing on our Jedi owned planet would pose any kind of threat. After all they have no reason to be resentful of us; we didn't go to war with the Revanchist and her Jedi so they shouldn't have had an agenda against us or our students. Guess we were a little mistaken. Well rest assured your kid died well enough fighting the good fight and all, oh yes here's their lightsaber.'"

Vandar closed his eyes before speaking. Bastila could have sworn she heard the Grand Master repeated the mantra: 'There is no emotion, there is peace' before he opened his dark hazel eyes once more. "Young Padawan, I can understand your frustrations and the reason you choose a more… sardonic approach in which to display those frustrations. It has been a very trying transition for you going from being a front lines Scout to becoming a Jedi.

"And while we thank you for ending the threat the Mandalorian's presence here, you must strive for a better understanding of the ways of the Order which have served the Jedi well since its incarnation. You have proven that you understand the Code, but your interruption of it has caused some… deterrents in your path that need not be there.

"We are not as uncaring as you perceive. The Council will launch a full investigation into the missing Jedi. This I promise you, as I promise the spirits of those who had fallen, their deaths will not go ignored."

He took in a deep steadying sigh. "At dawn you will meet with Master Zhar. I believe it is time for your final trial to become a full Padawan."


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

"Ah good you've arrived and right on time," Zhar greeted Skye as she entered the dojo. "As you are far more advanced in both age and skill than our typical Padawan candidates the Council has devised a test that is equal to those skills.

"As you must have noticed the aggression of the kath hound packs has risen exponentially. The reason for this atypical behaviour is both complex and easy to explain. The hounds are tainted by the Dark Side. There is area in the ancient grove that carries this taint, and is new. To face the Dark Side one must know it. You are to seek it out and put an end to its corruption and you are to do so alone."

The way the Twi'lek master delivered his orders unsettled Ravensong. Like the truth of her own identity he was keeping a secret barely masked. "There is something you're not telling me, Master. A mission is more successful the more reliable the INTEL is. Deliberately withholding information will be a deterrent. Or is this part of my mission as well?"

"It is and I will say no more of it. But know this; your actions in the grove will set in motion far reaching consequences. Go seek out this taint put an end to it."

Titling her head in submission Skye departed the training rooms as there was very little point in pursuing the line of questioning. As Zhar said it was a part of her quest. Just what kind of nexus of Dark Side power was this? Apparently it was enough to spoil the minds of beasts to make them seem almost rabid and yet leave sentient minds untouched. That is a very specific kind of Dark Side pool. Which meant it was very deliberate.

That kind of deliberate manipulation could only mean that a person was responsible. Not just a person, it was a Force-sensitive- a Jedi. But why would a Jedi do such a thing... unless they were dark. Okay so presumably there is a dark Jedi is running around on Dantooine. But the masters haven't intervened. Why not?

Maybe they believed they weren't a threat just like the Mandalorian thugs. No. That isn't it. The dark Jedi didn't come here, he or she is _from_ here. A student then. A student goes a little dark-sidey… suddenly the comment 'your actions in the grove will set in motion far reaching consequences' made much more sense.

Skye's mind raced backwards and forwards over everything she had heard since her arrival here almost three months ago. She had been so caught up in her studies the dark-manned woman gave little thought or attention outside them. But occasionally fragments of whispered rumours slipped through the cracks of her relentless pursuit of knowledge.

'She is lost.' 'She must find her own way home' 'Did you hear? Belaya and Juhani were ratted out to their masters for being lovers.' 'Belaya is sulking in her rooms and Juhani took off to who knows where.'

Skye opened her blue eyes to the world around her. Since her scouting days… (or at least the implanted memories of those days) the Nagai had had a habit of shutting out the immediate environmental settings to concentrate on remembered words, inflection of voice, tone, body language and often times what was not said. Sometimes the break between words was just as telling as the words spoken. It was like looking at the negative space in a painting which was just as important as the subject matter.

To confirm her hypothesis the young Jedi sought out the only other person who had answers. Belaya wasn't in the courtyard as she normally was. She was found with the little effort of asking a few of questions to a couple of younglings. She was in fact in the lower archives.

The former Dark Lord approached on such light of foot she startled the other woman.

"OH!" the human dropped the datapad she had been holding. "I didn't even hear you, Padawan Skye."

The Nagai grinned. "Guess we're even."

"Huh?" Belaya frowned then nodded. "Oh yes right. I did startle you out of your trance."

A nonchalant shrug. "Soooo reading anything interesting?"

Another lost look. Skye smiled at this as it was a sure sign of the human's lack of concentration, a mind like that was easy to mine. "Um… no. Not really. I was er…assigned to help Master Dorak in the archives."

"Training to be a chronicler I take it?"

A blush. "Not exactly no. I was… distracted. My master thought it best I find… my sense of concentration here," she sighed forlornly.

Skye patted the human on the back. "Don't worry. I'm sure we all get a little distracted from time to time. So how long are you being punished for this…er…distraction?"

"My master did not say. Though when I asked her all she said was: 'Longer now.' I suppose I will be finished when she feels I can not be…so distracted."

"Ah." A collegiate nod to disarm and a causal tone of voice to further the connection forming was all Skye needed to push the conversation into the direction she needed it to go. "Actually you might be able to help me and I rather not ask Master Dorak. You see I'm facing my final Padawan trial. But I'm already a Blademaster from the Nagai monastery so the Council cooked up something special to truly test me. Apparently there is a pocket of the Dark Side energy in the ancient grove. It's the reason all the kath hounds went bonkers. Have you ever heard of something so decisive like that? I mean if it's a pool of darkness wouldn't anyone getting near it become touched and go off half-cocked?" Skye watched Belaya carefully.

As the Nagai suspected all colour drained from the other woman's face. At first Skye thought Belaya was going to faint but she caught herself on the edge of the table. Ravensong wilfully ignored it. To draw attention to the little mental gray-out would draw attention away from the true target.

"I mean a Force-sensitive person like a Jedi could with concentrated effort withstand and over come such an area. But a mundane? Not so much, well maybe a Mandi but they are already dark and twisty. But a farmer I don't think so. Not that farmers are weak minded it's just you never ever hear of a nerf herder going all dark-sidey, do you?"

Belaya was sweating now, almost trembling. Skye persisted. "So have you ever heard of something like that? I mean not even the kinrath or brith are affected, only kath hounds. Now that's fracking weird. My best guess it's not a what but a who."

"You…um…a who?" Belaya swallowed hard.

"Well yes. Think about it. Those big ol' sky-rays can't have that much willpower, even less than a hound. So why isn't it touching them in the slightest? The biggest danger the brith offer is a big load of shit falling on you. Probably knock you unconscious getting hit with a load of crap like that, it's not like a sparrow shitting on your head is it?"

The human laughed or at least made the attempt. "Yes...I suppose so. So…so you think it's a person?"

"That's my best guess. Facing a dark Jedi. Now that will be a challenge."

"Challenge yes." Skye knew Belaya was replaying in the theatre of her mind's eye the honour-challenge that took place between Skye and Onasi. Just what she wanted her to do. "What… if this dark Jedi surrenders? Do you still intend to destroy herr…them?"

"Jedi don't kill their captives do they?" the scout was quick to pounce on the almost slipped word 'her'.

"What if…they fight to…to the death? What if…they are very good at…and too stubborn…what if you're forced to…kill? I've seen how good you are. What if they're not as good?"

Mercy was shown on the former Dark Lord's countenance. "If I can stop this rogue from doing something so monumentally stupid, I will." Skye pressed closer to the human, her winter blue eyes staring deeply in to Belaya's. "'She is lost. She must find her own way home.' Those words were parroted. They kept you from running after your girl when all you wanted to do was go to her. You fear the reprisals from your master and the Council. I will not kill Juhani though I won't guarantee she'll not have one hell of a monster-fracking headache if she will not see reason."

Belaya was trembling so badly Skye took a hold of her before the other Jedi's straining control on her emotions broke completely. "How…how did you know?"

"I listen." Skye said. "Being a scout was what I was _programmed_ to be. So I listen. I reason and I gather all the information I can, where I can and however I can. And sometimes, just sometimes that which isn't said is the loudest voice of them all."

KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR

The swoop bike ate the kilometres of the plains, turning them into a single emerald blur which was occasionally broken up by splotches of deep burnt sienna of rock formations.

There was no way she was going to hike all the way out to the Ancient Grove when she had a perfectly good or rather three perfectly good swoop bikes in which to use. It was simply ridiculous to walk everywhere especially when you could ride. Besides, while Zhar said she had to go alone, he didn't say how she was to get there.

That was what she told Nemo who was near the rear entrance of the enclave. He seemed to possess knowledge about her mission but when she had asked him what he knew he would not say, thus confirming the young Jedi's theory she was after this Juhani. Nemo, it turned out, was a master but did not sit on the Council. He even went as far as to say she placed too much importance on rank and station.

Maybe he was correct about that. Right now it didn't matter; she had a few other concerns dogging her.

Not even the bike stopped the kath hounds from hunting her. They were mad enough to actually chase her down whilst on the bike. The first time she'd driven them away with the Force, seizing the body of the great horned alpha male and hurling it into the rest of the pack, injuring several of the beasts. They scampered away with baying howls. The second attack had been far bloodier. A pack twice the size of the first rushed her; she opened fire with the bike's 55 mm. turret, and she circled around them with continuous fire. The laser bolts sliced through flesh and bone. When the pack finally broke and scattered only four of the twelve hounds remained.

_LEAVE_ Skye commanded through the Force. Her will would not be denied. The four hounds shivered, their heads shook whimpering and whinging whining as the two commands battled in their small minds for dominance- _**LEAVE!**_

Tucking their tails, the hounds rushed from the Jedi's position as swiftly as they had first charged her.

'I have just about had enough of this.'__Skye growled as menacingly as the hounds had when they had attacked. 'I don't give a swamp rat's ass if that squirrelly little knot-head lost her lover, I'm going to slap her upside the head so fracking hard for doing this crap! This is bantha poodoo.'

'Nine hells they took my memories, and gave me false ones. Hi I'm Revan…no wait no I'm Skye Ravensong. Oh, like the way they linked my real name and my family name? Or my fake family name?You know they made me an ardent believer in the Night Mother but hells Revan could have been-I mean I could have been an atheist. Well sorta-Revan believed in the Force. Look 'Little Miss Broken-Heart', we all have fracking issues with the Masters, especially that shutta sleemo Vrook, but you don't go around throwing tantrums and making fracking hounds lose their bloody minds. Next you'll be hysterically ranting to…' she coughed, '…er…your…hum…self.'

The Ancient Grove came up on the horizon, the decrepit moss-covered pillar jutted out from the green earth like the fingers of a dead giant. Around the site were two…no three dead Mandies, from the scorch marks on their armour it was death by Jedi or more specifically by lightsaber. One had even been decapitated.

'She goes for heads and arms.' There was approval in Nagai's thoughts. 'An enemy can't fight if he doesn't have a head and can't carry a gun if he can't use his arms. Good girl.'

Eyes darted back to the woman she had just praised. She knew the name of Belaya's lover but had not known the race. A part of her assumed Juhani to be a human, silly and a bit biased to be sure. The whole way out here she had mentally prepared herself to battle a human not a Cathar. She had golden fur with brown tiger stripes and unlike most Cathar Skye had seen, crossed paths with and or took as lovers. Juhani wore her mane in a top knot.

The Cathar had stronger bone and muscle density than many races including Ravensong's own. They were fast too. 'She's probably a Guardian. Swift, heavy and deadly. Probably favours Makashi form or Soresu- maybe even Shien/ Djem So. I doubt she's a practitioner of Ataru. Use Niman and Jar'Kai.'

Like all Nagai, Skye liked her sword-battles won before she engaged. Her mind already calculating each move, she even saw the battle playing out. 'She's going to leap at me, counter with the draw-closer move, pull her in with the Force, knock her off balance. Use the seconds to land a mark of contact—Shiim then Force push her away, shove into one of the columns. Use Shiak precision strike, anger will overcome her, she'll try to use Sai tok or Sai cha to slice me in half or take my head like she did with the Mandalorians.'

This was how she had won all her arena battles on Taris as the Mysterious Stranger so swiftly. She meditated before each battle, seeing each match in her mind before she committed. It was no different now.

Skye approached the kneeling Cathar: one saber in each hand.

Juhani's eyes snapped open as she felt Skye's approach through the Force. "I will be your doom!" The Cathar yelped before leaping up, lunging for Skye- just as Skye had predicted. The blow that might have fallen a lesser foe was easily blocked by a black-purplish and emerald sabers.

"'I will be your doom?' Really?" The Nagai scoffed deliberately goading her opponent.

"What?" Obviously this startled the rogue Jedi as did the sudden appearance of a black bladed lightsaber. Keeping with her plan Skye used the Force to slam Juhani into one of the pillars. All the air woofed out of the Cathar's lungs and she slumped to the ground.

"What you couldn't come up with something more...I don't know, imposing? ' I will be your doom' is... I don't know, it lacks a certain "muchness". And far too early in the game for something like that."

"Muchness?" snarled Juhani clambering to her feet in a thrice. That is not a word!" She sprinted ahead, launching herself at the Nagai, blue lightsaber raised, going for the Sai cha, to take off her head.

Skye catapulted though the opening in Juhani's guard. Stroke for stroke, the former Dark Lord and Juhani battled around the decayed remains of the ancient structure, locked in combat. Neither one taking the win.

"Real word or not, you're lacking it." Skye continued to taunt. Spinning away from the downward slash of the blue saber she made a swift gesture with her hand, sending one of the armoured dead bodies careening into the Cathar.

Juhani fell from the literal dead weight smacking into her. Her rage was evident in the scream she let out. The Mandie's corpse flew away from her as she used the Force to cast it back to the one who threw it at her. But the Nagai easily dodged the carcass with a backwards two-meter high backwards somersault. Skye was playing a dangerous game taunting the Cathar and she knew it. The younger Jedi was by far her superior in pure physical strength.

"I would have gone for a different war cry all together." Again another taunt.

Her strike to Juhani's shoulder was countered but only just. "Like what?"

"Something boastful: 'You want me, come and get me,' has always had a nice taunting dig. Or 'you will not win.' " Skye's whirlwind attack pressed Juhani's skills- she was faltering, falling back. "But that should only be used when the odds are in your favour."

_You can not win, Revan._ The memory of Bastila's boast aboard the former Dark Lord's flagship echoed in Skye's mind.

Ravensong flushed the memory from her mind forcefully. She leapt forward, with a series of complex, aggressive attacks. She moved quickly...pressing her advantage. This was no sparing match in the training room or with an enemy who possess little to no skill in melee combat. Juhani was Jedi trained and good. Very good.

Juhani was able to keep the Nagai's sabers at bay, but it required her to concentrate her full attention on controlling her own blade...leavening her vulnerable to the real purpose of the attack being unleashed against her. She suddenly realized the Jedi had been toying with her the whole time. Goading her into rash angry actions.

Anger and the Dark Side fuelled the Cathar, she used the Force, making invisible tendrils of energy to coil around the Nagai pushing her up off her feet and slamming her into the ground. Juhani took the tiny moment in her favour and leapt upon Ravensong's prone form, her saber raised above the Nagai's heart.

A sudden explosion of pain lanced though her when a bolt of green lightning shocked her body. She let out an agonizing howl, her body shuttered—convulsing as the energy rippled and tore into her nervous system. It was only a small shock but enough to make Juhani relinquish her captive.

"That stings doesn't it?" Skye rose up to her feet and loomed over the Cathar with both sabers crossed like scissors across Juhani's throat. "Now do the smart thing. Yield! By the Night Mother you _will _yield. Or I _will _be _your_ doom." The last four words were growled sending a small but very real wave of fear in the Cathar's soul.

"You are strong. Stronger than I." With no real choice left to her Juhani extinguished her blade, yielding to her conqueror and her fate.

"Why in blazes did you attack me?" Skye demanded taking a step back and thus allowing the other woman to regain her footing. Her own blades were powered down and replaced into the frogs at Skye's hips.

"I am Juhani and this is my grove. This is the place of my dark power."

"What here?" Skye looked around her with a sceptical expression painted on her pale face. "In the middle of a prairie and old stones. Can't say I'm all that impressed. I mean for a 'place of dark power' and all."

"This is the place you invaded! When I embraced the Dark Side this is where sought my solace. This is place is mine!" it was a snarl.

"Solace in the Dark Side? I never heard that one before. Yeah sure the dark can be a place of solace- me I've always liked the night. But going all darksidey, not so warm and cuddly. Dark-siders are more like stab-stab-kill and let's bathe in blood of virgin chickens. O'course you can't forget torture Tuesdays, always a classic favourite. Still not hearing why you attacked me." Skye folded her arms over her chest.

"You invaded." It was a simple answer, one that actually took the former Dark Lord by surprise.

"Fair enough. And so in your little green place of solace is were you've been corrupting the kath hounds."

"Yees," it was a sensually arrogant purr. "Aren't they pretty? My pets like the smell of the power I exude. They know their master."

"Um…exuding power…right… gotcha. Sure it isn't the collection of dead bodies? Sun-baked corpses even in full armour are starting to go a bit rank."

The Cathar ignored the flippant jibe. "I wield true power. I wielded it when I struck down my master Quatra. Power enough to crush the life of someone such as you," her lips pulled back into a half-hearted sneer. "Or so I thought." Shame filled the younger woman, her shoulders slumped defeated.

Skye looked to the bodies scattered, couple of Mandalorians and then she spotted another body nearer one of the weathered and pocked-marked pillars wearing the traditional brown robes of a Jedi. "You slew Quatra-your master?"

"Yes, I struck her down in the middle of training. Consumed by my anger, I embraced the Dark Side, my true power. It was not enough." The defeatist tone became thicker in the heavily accented Cathar's voice. "What is it that you want, why do you come here? Why do you hunt me?"

Skye shrugged non-committally. "I just wanted to talk."

"Talk!" the other asked incredulously. "You who have beaten me so easily just want to talk?"

"Pretty much. Yep."

"I can not believe it. You did not come to talk, you were sent to hunt me. Kill me now while you still have the power."

"Well that would defeat the reason I came here. I have no quarrel with you Juhani. I certainly have no wish to harm you."

"You…" Juhani fell back against one of the pillars, "I have done a terrible thing. I sit here thinking myself powerful by embracing the Dark Side, but I am nothing!" she slid down to the ground not daring to look up and meet the Nagai's blue eyes. "There is no way out, no way to turn back."

Skye slowly moved to the same pillar and sat beside the young beaten woman, and kept her voice still allowing the other to vent her fears, and confession.

"I always thought they held me back, that they were jealous of my power. It was only because I was not good enough to meet their standards. I never have been."

"Pfft. Come on now Juhani. You are a beautiful young woman who has much talent." Skye picked at the sleeve of her robe. "See? You even got past my guard. Have to get this patched of course."

This brought a shy smile to the Cathar's feline lips. "I thank you for you kind words young Jedi. You seem to know what affects me."

Skye could have sworn she saw Juhani blush just then. "It seems I still have much to learn. Both about being a Jedi and about myself."

"You never stop learning until you're in the grave." Skye said nonchalantly. "And I'm leaning new things about myself every day. Believe me. I know exactly were you're coming from."

"But I wish the cost of my ignorance wasn't so high. I wish that my master had not suffered because of me!" she was openly weeping now.

Skye pulled the young woman into a single-armed hug. "Hey. Hey come here." She held the Jedi close. Bonelessly the Cathar fell into her arms drawing strength and courage from them. "Juhani, even in death the Force will allow her to live on."

Tears streamed down Juhani's face. "If she were alive now, there is much I would say to her. So much I would apologize for. I think in my own way I truly loved her."

Skye wiped the wetness away from the golden fur and smiled gently. 'Ah now we're getting to the meat of it. You loved your master and when she made you give up the love of your life, you felt betrayed. I sorta understand that. Yep falling for the chick that 'killed me.' Kinda fracked up isn't it?' But Skye did not voice this.

"How can the Council ever take me back after what I have done?" the fallen Jedi lamented.

'Maybe they will just fry your brain and give you new memories. Seems the popular thing to do,' thought Skye mindful not to transmit it across to Bastila.

"I stuck my master down in anger! Unforgivable."

"I don't think so. Go back and show them you have rid yourself of the taint." Prompted the scout.

"I could couldn't I? Show them I have forsaken the Dark Side. Maybe- just maybe they will take me back!" There was hope in the young woman's eyes. She pushed herself to her knees giving her a few inches of height above Skye who was still sitting. "Do you think they will, after what I've done?"

"Yeah of course they will. Sorta why I was out here in the first place, this was my test. 'Seek out the taint and still it.' I think it's pretty much stilled don't you?"

The Cathar nodded so vigorously her top knot bounced. "I thank you Master Jedi. I will return to the Council. I will submit myself to their judgement and hope they can forgive me. If there was only some way I could make this up to you."

Skye smiled warmly. "Make sure Belaya knows you're okay."

"Belaya! She..."

"Worries for the woman she loves."

"Then you know…"

Both women were now on their feet. Skye clapped a hand on the Cathar's shoulder. "There should be no shame in that," she said firmly. "That lies at the feet of the Masters. I'm not trying to confuse you but the way I see it the Living Force engenders compassion, eventually even love. The Code is wrong in this. These emotions are not detriments to the Code but the embodiment of the Living Force."

"You believe this?"

"I know it. Trust the Force." Skye said simply. "I certainly trust it more than the Masters. They are only mortals, the Force is not, the Force is eternal. But right now I know they will take you back."

The young Cathar nodded. "Thank you again. I know I will hear great things about you."

"Maybe," Skye responded non-committally.

"It's a long trek back to the Enclave. You want a lift?"

The Cathar shook her head. "No. I must take Quatra back and see that she is taken care of. I must do this alone, just as you came here alone. It is my duty."

"I understand. And Juhani."

The younger woman paused in her motion of taking her master's body into her arms as if she were a child.

"May the Force be with you."

"And with you Master Jedi."

KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR

Skye pushed the swoop bike into the maintenance bay of the Ebon Hawk. A small detour before she headed into the Enclave proper. She was barely on board when she was besieged by a very excited Twi'lek and Wookiee.

"Did you pass? Did you pass?" Mission issued her question like rapid fire pistol shots.

"I think so, I did my mission but nothing is official yet. I haven't reported in."

"Can we go with you? Please say we can go with you!" Mission pleaded.

"I don't know if you can fully go in, might be some super secret Jedi thingy. But you can tag along as far as the Masters will let if you want, you too Zaalbar."

"I would like that," the Wookiee said. "I have never seen a knighting ceremony."

"Actually it's Padawan, haven't earned knighthood yet."

"Yeah but you will have that down soon enough. Bet after you stop Malak the Masters will Knight you for sure. Your Padawan trials must be pretty hard too though. Can you tell us what kind of test you had?" Mission looked to her hero with bright eyes.

Skye had no issue relating what her last test had been. She decided to tell them as they headed for the Enclave's interior. By the time she had finished telling the tale both young ones had become so engrossed they almost believed they had accompanied Nagai to the grove.

As soon as she entered the central gardens the former Dark Lord was nearly pounced upon by Belaya. Pounce was perhaps too strong of a word but it was close as one could get with out any true physical contact. Rushed would be more accurate.

"You have done a great thing! One of our own had strayed but you have brought her back to mm…us. You have returned Juhani to the order." Belaya smiled widely.

Skye shrugged.

"In this you deserve the highest praise!" Belaya could not, even if she tired to, keep the jubilation form her voice.

The Nagai could not be certain if the smile was a response to her or to the fact that Juhani was now standing beside her.

"Juhani, 'tis good to see you here."

"I must give you my thanks; because of you I am once again welcome within the Jedi Order."

"Ha, I knew they would! " Skye beamed. "Did you learn anything new about Quatra?"

"Quatra's injury was not as severe as I had believed. I was foolish to think I could ever harm a master such as she with my clumsy efforts.

'Okay you broke her down; you had better build her back up.' Skye thought hard enough hoping that at least one of the masters had heard her.

"The fierce competition between us was nothing more than part of my training. The Trial of Spirit. Quatra wanted me to understand the threat of the Dark Side. To see how easily it was to pull from the path of the Light."

"Where's Quatra now?"

"After our last battle Quatra had nothing left to teach me. I needed time alone explore the turmoil of my own spirit. Only then was I ready to follow a guide-you-back to the Light." Juhani smiled at Skye her voice taking an almost shy tone. "When I left, Quatra knew her work with me was done. There are other disciples in need of training. She could not stay to see if I passed this most difficult trial. With your help I have done so.

"The Council now feels I am ready to complete my training but they have asked me to wait here for the time-being."

"Hey I'm' glad to see you're not getting hung up on all this." Mission's ever bubbly personality rippled through the garden, causing the Cathar to grin. "The past is in the past you know."

"You have been given another chance to prove yourself." Zaalbar added. "I hope you use it well."

Juhani nodded, "I do not know what the Council has in store for me. But I will trust in the Force and the way of the Jedi to help me see whatever it is to come."

KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR

"You have done well my pupil, the ancient grove has been purified. "Juhani's journey down the dark path has been halted. Because of you she walks once more in the Light. But though she was saved do not dismiss what happened to her.

"Juhani is both dedicated and true to the ideals of the Order, yet she was still vulnerable to the Dark Side. As are we all. She struck her master in anger during her training and injured her greatly. But it was Quatra's choice to test Juhani in this way, and it seems to have made its point.

"Juhani has been redeemed and you have passed your final test. Congratulations Apprentice or should I say congratulations Padawan. You have proven yourself worthy of joining the Jedi. Let me be the first to welcome you as a full fledged member of our Order."

"Thank you master."

"I have taken the liberty of ordering your new robes as befitting your new rank." He pointed to a small metallic case near the threshold to the changing room just off the training room. "Adorn yourself in them and come immediately to the council Chambers." The Twi'lek smiled proudly and departed leaving Skye alone.

It did not take her long to shed the Apprentice robes and put on the new ones. For the most part they were nearly identical to her blue Zeison Sha robes, these however were not the robes and armor of an Initiate but of a Warrior. The under gee were the same linen and rough cotton that all Jedi tended to wear.

Ravensong definitely liked the look of the armour- silver and blue with a blue surcoat. The Nagai decided to show off a bit and garb herself in the armour.

Both Mission and Zaalbar had been allowed to remain in the Council chambers; they were not the only members of the Ebon Hawk's crew present. Commander Carth Onasi was also standing by- why Ravensong could not know. It was of no matter...the Masters were waiting.

"I must congratulate you on your actions Padawan Ravensong." Vrook said in a surprising appreciative tone. "You have saved Juhani, brought her back into the Order. and have given us great hope for your future success. May the Force be with you as you continue your journey. "

Weary of this sudden turn of approval in the human's voice, Skye couldn't help but give a sideways glance to the little green impish Grand Master before returning her attention to the man who all but despised her presence in the Enclave.

"Thank you master," she could not keep the shock from her voice if she tried.

"It is good to see Juhani has returned to the way of the Light." Vandar was still eerily smiling.

Skye figured someone must have doped them all in spice for such rousing praise.

"You are to be commended for your role in this," Vandar continued. "Your actions give us great hope for the future."

Oh I get it now. This wasn't just to save Juhani but to see if Skye or Revan came back from the grove wasn't it? And you're all still working on the assumption I have no clue who I am. Well I really don't, just a name but still…'

"Your training as an Apprentice is now complete, Padawan. And perhaps now it is time we dealt with the matter of the dream you and Bastila have shared. When we heard of the ruins in your dreams, Master Dorak recognized them as one of a series of ancient structures here on Dantooine.

"This one in particular lies to the east from this enclave. We sent a Jedi to investigate. But he has not returned. Perhaps sending him in the first place was a mistake. The Force is guiding you through your visions. It may yet be that exploring the ruins is tied to your destiny. That is why the Council has decided you should be the one to investigate this.

"The secret to stopping Malak may be contained within those ruins. You must investigate them and find what Malak and Revan were up to before."

"It will be done," Skye said solemnly. She looked over her shoulder to Onasi. So that's why he was present. The Republic's watch dog. Of course if he hadn't been allowed to go on the mission within the ruins, Carth's rampant paranoia would have taken over his mind like a bad rash.

"Master I need to know something." Skye said dismissing the commander's presence.

"A Jedi must ever be seeking knowledge." He said in the kind voice of his.

"Revan and her connection to the Force. If it is my destiny to lead me to the ruins, was it also hers that led her there? Surely she trusted the Force as much as any of us. What if she followed the Force? Light or Dark, the Living Force doses not choose sides. We can not assume just because she was the Dark Lord it doesn't mean she wasn't guided by the Force. How truly powerful was she- her connection to the Living Force?"

Bastila shifted nervously on her feet, turning her gaze away from master and Padawan.

"I knew Revan was a promising pupil, _strong _in the Force. But also headstrong and proud. Such traits are not unusual in young Knights. That is why I did not see the true extent of the danger. Many of the young Jedi admired Revan. Including Malak. When Revan set off to challenge the Mandalorians, Malak was the first to join the cause; Meetra was the second and many more after.

"And when Revan fell to the Dark Side it was inevitable that Malak would fall as well.

"So Revan was stronger than Malak."

"Revan was always the more powerful of the pair. When Revan fell we had hoped the threat was ended, but Malak quickly assumed Revan's role and embraced the Dark Side as fully as his master ever had. Now Malak leads the Sith army against the Republic. The chains of vengeance drawing him ever further drown the dark path, fuelling his powers to where they surpass those of his old master. Only you and Bastila together can defeat him now."

Skye's gaze had been centred more on the other woman than the Grand Master during his speech; she noticed however that he had not said 'death of Revan' as he had before when she questioned him about Bastila. He said 'fall.'

As she was about to leave, a human male barged in screaming. "I demand justice. The Sandral family is a blight upon Dantooine!"

'Ohh this looks fun.' Skye toyed watching the scene play out. She folded her arms and leaned causally on the lentil of the council chamber threshold.

"They must be punished."

The Council will look into this matter Mr. Matale." Vandar said in his ever clam voice. "You must be patient. Your accusations have no proof. We do not want you stirring up trouble with the Sandrals if there is some mistake."

"Mistake!" the Matale man screeched. "My son Shen is missing! How can there be any doubt that the Sandrals are to blame."

"There are other possible explanations for your son's disappearance." Vrook piped up.

'Yeah like he wanted to get a way from a barking old coot like you.' Skye added silently. 'You humans certainly like to screech.' She rubbed her pointed ears.

"Bah you Jedi are good for nothing but talk."

'Oh I don't know we can always send you on your ass, you loon.' The Nagai playfully toyed with the idea. But she suddenly got a 'nudge' from Bastila who was still near Dorak who shook her head in a schoolmarm way of disapproval.

'_Oh come on it would be funny.'_

'_Skye you are a Padawan now, you should not behave so childishly.'_

'_Oh like you didn't when you sent Mission on her ass for pe__s__tering you." _Skye smiled wolfishly causing her bond-mate to blush.

'_I…I have no idea what you are talking about, the girl is apparently clumsy'_

'_Pfft. Liar_.' Skye winked.

This time Bastila looked away as another shade of red crossed her eloquent features.

"I shall only wait so long before I take action on my own!" the venous snarl from Matale brought Skye right back to the intruder. He stormed off by wrapped in his vendetta.

"As dangerous as the threat of the Sith may be." Vandar said clearly addressing Skye. "We Jedi can not simply ignore our other responsibilities."

'Oh no no no no.' Skye muttered under her breath cursing her curiosity that made her linger. 'Damn and blast.'

"The Council has promised Alan Matale that we would look into his son's disappearance. Should you have time Padawan, you may want to investigate this matter."

The way it was phrased clearly this 'may want to investigate' was not an option it was an order.

"As Master Vandar said there are other possibilities. Like the Mandalorian raiders that apparently were not a threat or the crazed kath hounds, he's probably dog chow by now or a slave."

"If Shen Matale is not returned to his father it may ignite a savage bloody feud between the Matale and Sandral estates. We must not allow that to happen."

"Your study and training are important of course but the Jedi are not a closeted Order."

"Pfft." Skye made it sound like an ill-concealed sneeze.

Vandar ignored the young Padawan's scoffing. "Our ways and teachings must spread beyond the walls of our Academies."

"It is in the real world that we truly prove ourselves worthy of the title Jedi." Vrook said, his voice this time had no bite to it; it was...almost sage-like.

And he did have a point- the real world is the only place a Jedi could truly shine. "You will do well to remember this Padawan."

Suddenly all the warm feelings she was having for the old human washed out. He just had to go and add that bit of snark to his comment.

"Not to mention I wouldn't mind getting out of this enclave for a bit." Carth said. "I mean come on, how bad can it be?"

Skye nodded 'yeah okay', "Very well Masters, I shall look into it as once."


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

"One thing I don't get about you Jedi." The Mandalorian said after Ravensong updated the others on what happened after she was granted her new title. "Your master ignored the threat of raiders on this rock then they turn around and want you to play nice to the local Money and find some brat." Canderous grumbled. "Guess money makes the difference: even to the mighty Jedi."

"It's not like that, is it Skye?" Mission protested. She searched her hero's eyes to find some kind of reassurance, something to believe in. To her the Jedi were great figures; incorruptible, non-prejudicial unlike the majority of the populous of Taris.

"Of course it's not." It was Bastila that answered for the Nagai. "We can not be bought."

"Believe what you want. Way I see it, the Jedi didn't move when the poor farmers were losing their lives- their daughters raped- but the moment some rich asshole loses a son your precious Masters order immediate intervention." Ordo argued.

"Maybe Jedi Masters put more value on the life of a son than a daughter." Zaalbar reasoned. "The rape and murder of a daughter is not as an important issue as the kidnapping of a male heir."

There were many cultures in the galaxy that held such beliefs, that females were little more than breeding stock, nursemaids and somewhere to put a randy cock. The females of those cultures were so browbeaten they apparently never conceived of a life other than servitude.

"NO!" Bastila shook her head violently. "It isn't like that! The Jedi do not place importance of one sex above another. Skye tell them!"

The Nagai was inclined to agree with the others, the Masters only moved against the Mandalorians after Skye had challenged them about the plight of the farmers. But when the Matale man barked so loud about his son gone missing, the Masters reacted with all due haste to contain the situation.

To that point, how many women Masters were serving on the Council? So far the young knight had seen only two, though they were holographic representations. Maybe there was some truth to what Zaalbar said: the Jedi placed value of males over females. Why else was there so few females serving on the Council, why else were the masters so utterly slow in moving against rapists and thugs and so very swift to move for the wealthy patriarchs? Great wealth and males heirs' verses poor and disposable daughters, who do you think was going to get more attention?

"The proof is seemingly to the contrary, Princess." Skye said at last, much to Bastila's and Mission's disappointments. "The guys have a point, there was no movement until money and a son was involved then, well, we're sent to go investigate even over the more important mission to find out what is in those ruins."

"I can't believe you're siding with them." Bastila shot a hurt and betrayed look to her fellow Jedi. She could not believe Skye's that matter neither could Mission.

"I'm not siding with anyone; I'm just saying what it _looks_ like." Skye murmured. "Anyway we have a job to do. Canderous you, Mission and Zaalbar go towards the Western plans near the Matale estate and see if there is any sign of this Shen kid. I'd start looking around kath hound dens for remains. More than likely the boy ended up as dog chow."

"That's a wretched thought." Bastila scolded.

"A realist thought. The way the hounds were berserk it's not outside the realm of possibility." Ravensong said.

"I hate to say it but she's right." Onasi nodded. "There's probably nothing left of that boy. We should head out to the Sandral grounds to see what we can learn if anything. Put those scouting skills of yours to good use, Skye."

As they began to file out the young Twi'lek turned to Ravensong with a sigh, she so much wanted to believe in something greater than herself. "Skye..."

Reading the teenager's dejected face; Skye walked up touched her forehead to the other female's and smiled as an elder sister might "Don't worry. Bastila and I are what Jedi are supposed to be. Bas had it right; she and I can't be bought. I fought for the farmers just like I am going to look for this kid because it's the right thing to do. But I need your help to do it, just like I needed it when we put down those sleemo frackers that were raping and murdering those innocent girls."

Renewed in hope, Mission's face was alight once more. "You got it!" the girl smiled. "You can count on me Skye."

"Never doubted it. Now go, hopefully this Shen boy isn't hound chow."

The groups split up three and three with Ravensong's trio laying claim to T3-M4. The little Astro-droid would make the search in both the Khoonda plans and the Sandral estate for Shen Matale that much easier. Of course if they had a sample of his DNA it would be easier still. What they did have was a picture of the young man; it would have to be enough.

With the droid safely secured on the back of Ravensong's swoop bike and Bastila and Carth on the remaining two the three headed out towards the rival estate. The fast route there was across a bridge that passed over a small ravine and a trickle of water that was trying very hard to impersonate a stream. This however was blocked by a Twi'lek, who by his stance appeared to be waiting for them as if knowing the companions were en-route. By his robes and the lightsaber strapped to his hip, there was one logical conclusion: Jedi.

Skye powered down her swoop as did the two humans following her. "Master Jedi?" Ravensong gave the more traditional greeting when meeting an unknown person of the Order.

"Padawan your arrival here is well timed."

"We're on our way to the Sandral estate, our timing wasn't deliberate. Who are you?"

"I am Bolook. I was sent here by the enclave to investigate a killing that took place here not a few hours ago. I was going to handle this case myself but now that you are here this could be an excellent opportunity for you to demonstrate how well you have been learning your lessons at the academy. Though you are not a full Jedi perhaps you can assist me in sorting out the truth from the lies."

Skye replied in a sarcastic breath, "It's not like I have anything important to draw my attention. What do you want me to do?" she turned off the engine to the bike and began pushing it as she followed the green-skinned Twi'lek across the bridge. A glance cast over her shoulder confirmed that Bastila and Carth had both followed suit.

"Listen to the stories given by both suspects." Bolook said guiding the way to a small enclosure of rocky hills and a meadow.

There two humans stood several paces apart each guarded by an armed droid while a third protocol droid stood between them next to the corpse of a third man.

"I have brought an information retrieval droid from the enclave which has access to the records of the enclave and planetary council for you to utilize." Bolook informed the padawan. "I will use my wisdom and experience to offer you some guidance but I will not solve the case for you. There is little benefit to you if you do not solve this problem yourself.

"Consider each man's account and check the facts with the information droid. Once you have gathered the evidence you think you need, run through the possible scenarios with me. If you are unable to come to a satisfactory resolution then I will take men into the enclave and deal with them myself.

"According to the accounts of the participants, these three men were out here in the field together earlier before the clouds broke. I find it odd; most people would seek shelter indoors when the sky is heavy with dark storm clouds as was earlier today. That is _not_ the most puzzling aspect of the case. Calder Nettic was shot in the back with a blaster riffle. The rifle was found near his body with blood stains on it. It has been sent back to the enclave for analysis.

"Two men were found near the scene when I arrived. One is Handon Guld- he was unarmed. The other is Rickard Lusoff who was carrying a hunting rifle. Each man claims they did not do anything and then they crossed paths with the body but they also accuse each other. Obviously there is more to this than what we've been told."

"Is there anything else I should know?" Skye said drawing in all the facts she had heard thus far.

"There is one last thing. When I arrived Handon was holding his side and Rickard was favouring one of his legs. You would do well to remember this as you peruse the remainder of the case. If there is anything else you need, I will remain here as you question the suspects."

Skye padded up to the first male, he looked painfully constipated. In the Jedi's mind he was the grumpy one. The way he kept a contemptible eye on Bolook, he was apparently one of those pro-human guys that looked down all other species as sub-sentient.

"Another Jedi huh? That Twi'lek has been investigating for a while now. Guess he can't figure it out. I am Rickard Lusoff. Maybe you can figure this out so I can get out of here."

_Yep, spot on_ Skye thought. "Tell me what happened," her tone was no-nonsense.

"Well I was out hunting iriaz when I spotted one nearby-over by the bridge. I was lucky because there haven't been that many around because of the kath hounds going crazy in the area. Though they're still around. I was in my blind up on the ridge. I pull out my rifle and aim at it but I couldn't see it mind you because the damn sun was in my eyes, it was right behind the iriaz. So I shoot it- POW- and it drops. I walk over here and find Handon standing over this body, holding his side. Calder must have been hunting it himself because there was a rifle next to his body. That Jedi has that now. Mine too. I want that gun back. So why don't you get this whole farce over with and take that whiner Handon to prison."

"The sun was in your eyes. On a heavily overcast day? Really?" Skye looked up. "It was going to storm earlier, thick black clouds and the sun was in your eyes. And the iriaz? Where's the body? No kath hounds around this area. I didn't see a kill spot, not blood, no carcass. Farce indeed. You just lied. To a Jedi. But if that is your _**story**_ very well." Skye's voice drew in the coldness of the storm that did not fall.

"I don't know what happened to it when I came over Handon was there and the iriaz was gone."

"A whole big iriaz gone?

"YES! Handon must have taken it!"

"Where'd he put it? In his quantum pocket?"

"I...I don't know. I have nothing to do with this. Can I go now?"

Skye ignored the whining question. "You're limping, are you hurt?"

"Well...am... kinda sprained my ankle running through the bushes before I found the body, but nothing that serious."

"Did you know the victim?" she didn't give him a chance to recover from one question before she barraged him with another.

"Yeah I knew him. Hell we've known each other for a good long time, doesn't mean I really like the slim-ball." Rickard sighed. "Maybe I shouldn't be so hard on him, especially now that he's dead. We actually got along pretty well most of the time. We just had our differences. We were actually business partners. We were in the trade of orbit to ground transport for Aratech. Can I leave now? I should be the one to give the news to his wife."

Skye glowed so darkly Rickard took an involuntary step back. "You're seriously asking me if you can leave? During a murder investigation? Of course you can't, dumb-ass."

The word surprised not only the human under investigation but Bastila as well, Carth just snickered.

"You can't..." Rickard thought better of chastising the dangerous looking Nagai female. Jedi or not he knew the Blades had a lethal reputation especially if you tampered with their short-fused anger control. "You wanna know why someone wanted him dead I suppose. You Jedi are so predictable. Always seeing some greater purpose behind everything when the simplest answer is usually the right one. Can't you see it must have been Handon? I found him standing over the damn body! I don't know why this is causing you so much trouble Knife-ears. You almost seem as lost as this Bolook guy."

"You just sit tight." Skye tossed. "After I'm done talking to him you can have even more unconvincing lies to spew. Like how it was a one legged kath hound who must have done it."

She turned from the man and went to Handon. As she approached the human put on what he thought was a charming smile. "Ah you must be helping Master Bolook in his investigation." His manor was far more charming then Rickard's had been but to Skye he still oozed. "I am Handon Guld. Perhaps you heard of me?"

"Outside this murder investigation. No." Skye said crisply.

"Oh," his charming smile faltered. "I presume you wish to hear my story concerning all of this. I will tell you of course, but there isn't much to it. I'm sure after dealing with Rickard you will see he is guilty of the murder."

Red flags went straight up in Skye's mind.

"See I was out here running earlier today," Handon started.

Skye gave him a sceptical look but said nothing.

Handon interpreted it as disbelief. "Yes running. I do that a lot. I can't stand speeders- never use them. Keeps me fit too, you know," he puffed out his chest as if to reveal his supper physique. Which was by any judge of the eye sorely lacking. He was the sort of guy that did three sit-ups and as soon as a woman walked into the room changed the number to three hundred.

"Anyway, I was out running on the other side of the bridge there when all of a sudden I heard a shot coming from over here. I ran over and found this man Calder lying on the ground dead."

"Did you see the killer?" _Typical __**not me**__ defence_, Skye thought.

"I saw Rickard come skulking out of shadows and rock south of the river. I knew something was wrong so I hit my emergency button and called the Enclave right-a-way. Well there, that is my story. Now can we please hurry this up and arrest Rickard so I can get on with my day."

"Not so fast, sir. I don't arrest someone because another idiot points his finger and says 'he did it.' Did you _see _what happened?" the Jedi demanded.

"Well I didn't actually _see_ anything, until I heard the shot and crossed the bridge. I can tell you I was sure surprised to see Calder's body laying there. I just got here when I saw Richard holding his blaster there. I was terrified and I had no idea what he was going to do, so like I said I hit my emergency button."

"And called the Enclave, yes yes. But you didn't see Rickard shoot did you?"

"No. Master Bolook came out with his droids and started questioning me. I—I think he doesn't actually understand what's going on, ya know. I hope you will be able to make a more informed decision I have things I have to do."

"No I will not hurry. Do not ask again." Skye growled causing Handon to quiver and re-evaluate his situation. "You decided to go running on a day that a storm was in the air. Not only that but the kath hounds have been nearly rabid and there were Mandalorian marauders skulking about and you go _towards_ a shot being fired? Well curiosity does turn people into stupid morbid lookie-loos. Wanting to see a bit of blood? Violence? Maybe a bit of gore?"

"What? No! I take a daily constitutional, is all." Handon shook his head frantically.

"In boots? Not even combat boots." Skye gave a look to the extravagant boots there were more fashionable than functional.

"I just...enjoy running to anything else. It gets my mind off things. A healthy body will bring a healthy mind I always say. Ha heh."

"Right." Skye looked at the male with a bored expression. "You're holding your side. Are you injured?"

He paled. "Injured? No—no of course not."

"Uh-ah."

"Why-why would I have been? Fit as a bantha," he laughed nervously. "I...I run. I run every day. Did I mention that?"

"Might have. Did you know the victim?"

"I knew him a little bit but I wasn't any sort of friend to him or anything. I never really associated him that much. In truth I didn't really want to. He had...a...reputation. Very inconsiderate of family. I heard."

_Ah now we come to some meat._ Skye thought.

"But...but merely hearing unkind things about someone wouldn't make me want to kill him." Handon was quick to add.

"No, no of course not." Skye mockingly agreed. "No one said you _killed_ him...yet."

"I'm sorry." Handon realized he must have shown the cards in his hand as he was back peddling swiftly. "I'm getting a bit agitated. Why must I remain here? Can't you see that Rickard must have shot him?"

"I see a whinny piss-ant trying to weasel his way out of justice." She scoffed then turned her direct attention to the information droid. "Can you tell me about Calder and Handon?"

"The South-Woods Speeders have records that show over the past several weeks one of their speeders had been rented by one Mr. Nettic and Mr. Guld. Is there anything else you need?

"Calder and Rickard tell me about them."

"According to the municipal authorities near the Garang Spaceport there had been news of violent drunken disorderly conduct in a cantina attached to the port. Apparently a Mr. R. Lusoff was making accusations against one Mr. C. Nettic about cheating him in a business deal. Jedi Tooka was dispatched and restored order."

"What about the weapon?"

"We can't get any more information out of it other than it did not belong to Mr. Calder. The serial numbers have been filed off."

"Black Market. Humm, okay." Her mind went to the rodian just outside the Enclave, he seemed the shifty sort. Shifty enough for Canderous to be interested in his wares.

"And the blood?"

"I just received the analysis of the sample found on the weapon. It had been sent to the enclave just before you arrived. The blood on the weapon is human but definitely not Calder's. Unfortunately there was some bacterial contaminants in the sample that had been taken back to the laboratory and they had become degraded. We can not get any more specific analyses for it other than the fact it did not belong to Calder."

She turned and went back to Rickard. "What do you know about the weapon found with the body?"

"That blaster? Never seen it before. Calder himself had a preference for Echani weaponry. He had this really nice light blaster that he always used. Always wished I could get myself a rifle like the one he had."

"Echani make delicate weapons; I wouldn't think a guy like you would like something with so little fire power."

"Yeah whatever. They're precise and fast. And that blaster wasn't it. Calder only had the one rifle too, so he either must have borrowed it, or it's someone else's.

"Maybe, maybe not. I have motive now and it's not looking good for you pal. You thought Calder was cheating you, and here he is dead, and you were out hunting..."

"Now I don't love Calder but we go back a long way. We've run a suborbital transport company out of Garang Spaceport for well over twenty years. And we've done just fine with things the way they are. I ain't got no beef with him."

Skye said, "Bar-room brawls say there is anything but 'just fine' between the two of you. Try denying the bad blood between you."

"Right." Rickard muttered tersely. "Whatever."

Back to Handon.

"What do you now about the weapon found at the body?" the Jedi demanded waiting for more compound lies.

"That blaster was stolen from my house last week. I never knew what happened to it. I hardly have enough money to buy a single blaster let alone get another. I can't tell you how important it is to have a weapon on hand with all these ravenous kath hounds around. Even an iriaz can take you down if it gets in the mood. Every settler has a weapon. It is my most prized possession. I'd appreciate it if I can have it back. After you determine Rickard is the killer."

Skye wasn't buying it, she raised her voice as she addressed the automaton but did not move from where she stood in fount of Handon. "Droid, was there a file reported on a missing firearm from this guy?" she pointed with her thumb over her shoulder.

"I am sorry. I seem to be failing you. I searched and searched but I cannot come up with anything at all. I thought to find a record of the missing weapon report Mr. Guld filed. But there doesn't seem to be one."

Skye gave a pointed look to the man. "Right so another lie. Just like the one you told me about _not_ knowing Calder. You knew him better than you said. You rented a speeder with him. A speeder that you hate using SO much," she folded her arms over her chest.

"I...I realize this must seem like a motive to you, but it isn't! I disliked Calder, true. I would punch his face in given the opportunity but I would _not_ kill him!" he was liberally sweating now.

"Punch him in his face? Why?" blue eyes narrowed.

"All his lies compounded with threats, doesn't look good." Carth said. "You're looking dirtier and dirtier by the minute mate."

"Come clean human." Skye took a menacing step towards the man she was truly beginning to lose patience with.

"My wife was cheating on me with him. They slept in my own bed while I was in the next room. But as much I may hate him for that I could not kill him."

_LIAR!_ Skye's mind screamed.

"It may have been my own fault for driving my wife away. I must try not to take the law into my own hands," he made a vain attempt to sound penitent. He truly must have been convinced his more contrite behaviour was more convincing of innocence than the taciturn attitude of Rickard to continue on with the flaccid façade.

Both Jedi rolled their eyes at this and Carth chortled. This guy didn't actually think anyone is buying the bantha-poodoo he was shovelling did he?

"I was just out running trying to clear my head for the divorce proceedings. Not stalking him to kill him! Running is not a crime."

Skye stepped up to him so she was nose to nose. "Does this look like a face to you that says I believe your crap? You lied at every turn. You wanted to kill Calder for having an affair with you wife."

"Knock his block off maybe not kill him! Oh my! I...I hope you don't find that incriminating."

"No no of course I don't," her voice was a patronizing purr. "Why would I? Your gun found by the body-one bought off the black market, no missing gun report and you have more than enough motive for wanting to kack this sleemo. And hey, on top of that you rented a speeder for two weeks when you said you hated them. No human I don't find _any _of it incriminating. Not in the fracking slightest."

"I...normally I'm not prone to outbursts like that but Calder Nettic wasn't a very nice person. Not a very nice person to me... or my family."

"Oh I'd say he was _very _nice to your wife." Skye laughed. "And you didn't even see your wife slipping away from you? You really are a self-centred idiot aren't you? So you had no clue at all they were banging it up?"

"Humph." Handon glowered. "I had my suspicions for weeks but I had no proof until two days ago. It seems Calder was seeing my wife right under my nose no less. "

"Well if you can't keep her it's your own fault." Skye said. "Maybe you should have spent more time with her between the sheets and less running."

"Yeah maybe."

"Now you're going in for murder."

"But I..."

"I'm a Jedi, shit for brains. You don't actually think you can lie to me do you? Me, if I was still serving in the Monastery of the Night Mother I'd cut your head off right now." Her hand went to the hilt of her lightsaber. Handon's face paled he stumbled backwards back into the metal body of the droid that was guarding him. There was a sudden pooling wetness about his crotch and the smell of ammonia.

"But you...can't!" he squeaked.

"Yeah, your lucky day, frack-head, I'm not going to execute you. Jedi and all. Apparently we don't lop people's heads off with our lightsabers...well outside combat that is. Such a shame really because same people just need to die."

Handon fell to his knees sobbing.

"See I told you he did it!" Rickard barked out.

Skye spun on her heels, starched out her hand using the Force she 'yanked' the human off his feet and 'pulled' him towards her. "You're as guilty as he is," she threw his body at the feet of Handon.

"Gods damn you, knife ear..." he managed from where he was in the dirt.

"Do you want to finish that statement?" snarled the Nagai.

Master Bolook watched the scene unfold with bemused curiosity. He knew the young Nagai had come to the Order rather late and had yet to gain the more refined dignity of a Jedi, but she had an effective method nonetheless. And it wasn't as if she wasn't the only rough diamond within the Order.

"Padawan, can I assume you have solved the case?" the Twi'lek queried.

"Yes, Master. Both did it." Skye said as she pointed to Handon. "This loser was pissed off because Calder was banging his wife- he lied about his gun being stolen and about his dislike for speeders in fact he had rented one with Calder here. He took the opportunity and killed him near the bridge.

"At the same time Rickard, so convinced Calder cheated him in business, was enraged. He knew Calder would be out here, he was hunting _him_ not iriaz. When the fool saw a person near the bridge, from the distance he thought it was Calder and took the shot. Only the idiot didn't hit his intended target he tagged this lying sake of shit-for-brains sleemo. Like you said- Handon is holding his side, lift up his shirt and you'll see the blaster wound. The blood found on the gun is his."

"Yes, well done Padawan. Both men had reason to want Calder dead. Both men knew that Calder would be out here this morning and each plotted to kill him. And the facts fit your theory. Handon, upon seeing Rickard no doubt feared Rickard would kill him as well and so he called us. He hoped to convince us that Rickard had done the murder."

"Damn you! Damn you both!" Rickard screamed now on his feet.

"That is enough!" Bolook snapped back silencing the ranting male. "The culpability of both you in the murder and the attempted murder Calder Nettic is evident. In addition, the additional charge of aggravated assault and attempted murder of Handon Guld will be placed on you Mr. Lusoff. I'm placing you both under arrest by the power of the Jedi Order and will escort you to the holding facilities at the Jedi enclave."

Bolook turned his attention back to the young Nagai. "You have done well here, perhaps a little too bluntly spoken for one of our Order, but your performance was exemplary, if not _**very**_ effective," he cut a glance to the stain at Handon's crotch. "It is obvious you have been studying your lessons carefully. I will be sure to inform the Jedi Council of your success in this test.

Bastila was extremely impressed. "I don't think I could have done as well," she placed a hand on the Nagai's shoulder, unaware of how closely she was pressing her body next to the older woman's. "Perhaps a touch more refinement in your delivery, but you are an excellent sleuth."

"You might just make a perfect Jedi yet. Who knows?" Carth added trying to be supportive.

~KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR~

At the same time Ravensong and her team were solving the murder, Canderous had taken the 'kids' out on to the plans as the Jedi had ordered. Her idea of finding the body of the missing rich-boy seemed a long shot at best. But what the hell, it got him out of that nauseating Jedi hive for a while and by the look of it both the urchin and the Wookiee were just as grateful to leave all that robed mediating and toy-sword duelling behind.

Hell the urchin was a fair shot and not half bad with demolitions, Canderous admitted. He might be in just the mood to teach her a thing or two about how Mandalorians set up land mines. He recalled on Duxn some of his people had set up a murder-hole completely lined with land mines. Took out half that Jedi Knight's..._what was her name... doesn't matter... _what did was that she lost a lot of men on that rise. If Mandalorians know anything, it's demolitions.

"Say, look kid while we're out here chasing after wild mynocks, might as well make good use of our time. Hunting dead rich boys isn't what I signed up for, how 'bout I teach you how to shoot those little toys of yours, and while at it I'll show you a thing or two about munitions"

Mission looked to the Echani pistols strapped to her hips. "Look, not that I don't mind the practice and all, but Skye gave us orders."

"Yeah. So we look for this slab of rotting meat and target practice. I ain't gonna have you shoot at bottles kid. Live targets are best- fortunately this weed infested planet is filled with mangy kath hounds. Plenty of opportunities. And the way you were tossing those mines under the raider's vehicles you have a head for blowing crap up."

Mission's blue eyes twinkled "Well I do like making things go boom," she admitted. "Besides I bet Skye would approve of getting better a shooting and stuff. Whatta ya say Big Z?"

"Becoming better at firearms will only help us against Darth Malak. But to kill a beast without needing to eat it is criminal. Meat will be wasted, it must not."

"Um...so...er you butcher them like before. Preserve the meat and all. I get the feeling this mission to stop Malak is going to be a long one. We can do with salted meats in ship's store," the young Twi'lek said trying to persuade her friend. Besides she wasn't looking forward to searching the plains for the remains of kath hound prey. This sounded like much more fun. She liked blowing things up and she wanted to impress Skye with her shooting. One day soon the former street rat hoped her hero would set some time aside and show her some Nagai tricks with a sword, maybe some Jedi ones as well.

Carth might get his boxers in a twist about the Mandy teaching her and Big Z, but Skye seemed more practical and besides she didn't seem to mind Grandpa Candy's presence and she was a Jedi. Mandies and Jedi were supposed to be enemies.

"Okay, I'm in." the Wookiee barked his reply. Truth be told he wasn't too happy about having to scout out the carcass of some dead human. But better looking for dead bodies then talking to stuffed-up sleemos who believed they were superior to anyone else because of their wealth.

Ordo had to ask Mission for translation as he didn't understand the barks and growls of Shyriiwook and he rarely bothered with a remote translator as most aliens understood and spoke either Basic or Hutteese as the common galactic tongues.

"Good, let's get started on the demolitions then." Canderous said firmly tough not gruffly. He turned and looked to the girl and thought of the raped farm girls. "And I'm gonna show you a few things girl I don't think even the Jedi Whelp knows about- sticking some asshole with a knife so you don't end up tossed to the ground and fracked in the rear."

~KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR~

"This is private property. By what authority do you trespass on this estate?"

"Jedi authority," Skye said. "I am here to speak with Ahlan Matale."

"You hare come from the Jedi Council? Master Matale wishes to speak with you. I will inform him you are here. Remain at this location, until he arrives."

The droid turned around on ungaingly stiff legs and meandered into the domicile only to reappear moments later with his master in tow. Ahlan Matale bore the same sour expression he held whilst in the Council chambers.

"My protocol droid tells me you are here on behalf of the Council. I was beginning to think my demands had been ignored. Though I think your time would be better spent interrogating the Sandrals as to the whereabouts of my son Shen!" His voice was just as grating and demanding as the first time Skye had heard it.

"Why are you so certain the Sandrals are to blame?" The Nagai mustered with as much cordiality as she could.

"Many years ago I brought my family here to Dantooine to escape the crush of humanity on the Core worlds. Soon after we settled here the Sandrals arrived. They've been a plague upon my house ever since."

"Sir I imagine the story from the Sandrals would sound just about the same." Carth said.

"Don't you..." Matale stopped as he saw the glare in the Jedi's eyes. "The injustices of the Sandrals against the Matales are far too numerous to name. But the Council is well aware of our many disputes. Recently I discovered several Sandral droids trespassing on my land."

"What were they doing here?"

"I have no idea what nefarious purpose lay behind their arrival. My own assassination perhaps, destruction of my properties, maybe a simple spy mission. I was about to find out when my own security droids destroyed the invaders. Not a single one survived. It was shortly after this incident that Shen, my only son and heir to the Matale estate, vanished. Obviously Nurik, the unscrupulous head of the Sandral clan, has abducted my son in retaliation for the destruction of his droids."

"You're jumping to conclusions." Skye said

"Why does the Council insist on stalling? The life of my son is at stake! It's possible… yes of course... I am a man of the world Jedi, I know how things are done. I will make a 'contribution' of a thousand credits to the Council in exchange for rescuing Shen from the Sandrals. I will present the credits directly to you of course..."

"Skye took a menacing step forward. "I DO NOT WANT MONEY!" she roared causing Matale to stumble back. "The Sith are rampaging whole worlds, Darth Malak just obliterated Taris and you want me to play pissing games with you and another old shit when the galaxy is at war? The only reason I am out here is goodwill."

"My son is gone. That is a fact, Jedi! I will... not sit idly by much longer. I will raze the entire Sandral estate if I must."

"You are willing to risk open war over this?" Carth asked

"It's the Sandrals that started this, not I."

"And here I thought you would blame us if we failed. It seems everyone is responsible for your actions but yourself."

"I don't need to stand here and listen to such impertinence! Until you find Shen we have nothing further to discuss. I suggest you hurry south to their estate lest I take matters into my own hands." Matale turned away and stormed back into his estate.

"I'm impressed Carth, your interjection was very intuitive," Bastila said. "Almost Jedi like."

"What can I say, you pick a few things up." He shrugged.

Bastila turned back to Skye who was barely containing her seething emotions. "I fear Ahlan Matale is not just making idle threats. He's rash and foolish enough to order a full assault on the Sandral estate. Such action will result in open war between the two families."

"I've seen men like Ahlan Matale before. He's so convinced that his hatred is justified that he is prepared to do anything if we don't do anything and there will be war," he said as if knowing Skye was thinking to let the two men fight it out. In the great galactic scheme of things they were not but ants.

~KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR~

Getting to the Sandral Estate didn't take long,especially with the way Skye was driving her swoop bike as if she was on a track rather than on the open prairie. However, along the way they were diverted by the sounds of gunfire. It wasn't constant but came in irregular beats.

"Sounds like a hunting party." Carth said as he listened to the broken firing pattern.

"I sent Canderous and the kids out here, maybe it's them." Skye said. "Mission hasn't called in via comm so she can't be in any real trouble."

"Would she radio if Ordo was with her though?" Bastila asked.

Skye gave her a look that said: 'of course she would.'

"Guess you are right. You seemed to have become her patron Jedi Knight in glimmering robes." Bastila teased lightly.

"Meh. Whatta' ya going to do?" Skye said nonchalantly. "Come on, let's see what our hunters are up to," she looked to the utility belt. "Go incognito, I want to see this without them knowing it."

"Why?" Carth asked, there was no disguising the hint of suspicion in his voice.

"Because I want to see if it is Ordo out there with Mission and Big Z. I want to see what he does with two street rats used to living it rough. Both of them are survivors yes, but they're not warriors. Not even Zaalbar despite being a Wookiee. Ordo is pure warrior and I want to see if he will uplift the weaker of us or will he abandon them in a fire fight because he sees them as a liability? Will he use them as front line fodder or will he make use of their skills and better them for it. The only way to see that is to observe it without them knowing it."

Bastila saw something of Revan in the orders. She knew her one-time lover had done similar things when she had taken charge of survival classes for Younglings. She wanted to see if the weaker ones would be uplifted and aided by the more dominant, more talented of the acolytes. Hers was the only class that season to pass all her students at a hundred percent, because she demanded complete unification of her charges. Each talent could be utilized no matter how seemingly insignificant- if used in conjunction with another's skill set it created strength, to do less was to accept failure within the ranks. Revan had made it perfectly clear in the minds of her Youngling students that summer, if one failed, they all failed, no exception.

"One fails all fail." Bastila murmured.

Skye nodded, "Precisely." She turned and gave a pointed look to Onasi. "I must be able to trust each person on this team and they must in turn trust each other or this won't work." Her eyes turned a chilling blue. "I need to know I can trust Ordo. The best way to do that is to watch him work with the untrained when he doesn't know he's being watched."

"And if he can't be trusted?" challenged the Republic Commander.

"Like anyone else who isn't trustworthy he won't get on my ship," the former Dark Lord said making point clear. "If Mission and Zaalbar can trust the Old Man, then I know I can. But at the same time the Mandy needs to know he can trust us to cover him in battle- that he can rely on this team."

This time Carth was wise enough to keep his mouth shut about his issues of trust. He absent-mindedly touched the scar on his neck where the honour blade had sliced him. He was smart enough to know now that it would probably be his tongue- not enemy fire- that would kill him.

The Jedi team advanced over the next ridge on their bellies, though if anyone were to look they would not see them as they were all wearing stealth belts with audio dampeners, though the latter function wasn't activated which would make communication impossible. Upon reaching the crest they could see in the plains below Canderous was keeping watch with his heavy riffle as he had Zaalbar and Mission in a crossfire positions over a den of kath hounds. He was barking orders to Mission on how to time her shots perfectly, to view one laser bolt as a hundred. To Zaalbar who was already proficient with his bowcaster, to use the prototype vibro-sword Ravensong had found way back on the Endar Spire but had given to the Wookiee once she started lightsaber training. Mission already had her own sword and also found a smaller blade on one of the Mandalorian Raiders they had killed here on Dantooine.

"Why is Zaalbar using a sword?" Carth whispered.

"You're a solider Onasi surely you can understand that the reliance upon a single weapon is inadvisable." Bastila answered. "It is wise for him to hone underdeveloped skills."

Skye was grinning, she approved of Canderous' impromptu boot camp. She had been too preoccupied with her own training to take a vested interest in her young wards' progression in their combat skills. But an idea formed in her head that during their forthcoming journey she could take Mission aside in the cargo bay and teach her a few tricks with a sword. No one but a Jedi knew more about blades than a Nagai. They were called Knives even as a slur for a reason.

Skye was pulled back from the conversation by Mission's cry of discovery. "Hey Grandpa Candy I found something!" She made a sour face.

"I TOLD you never call me that!" Canderous roared, his face as red as a Sith's lightsaber.

"Yeah well I'm gonna keep calling ya that until you stop calling me kid!" Mission spouted defiantly back.

On the hilltop Carth was practically rolling around on the grass laughing himself silly as he repeated in a mocking school boy tone, "Grandpa Candy! Grandpa Candy oh that's too rich. "

"Fine you little shit, I won't call you kid, I'm calling you brat!" Ordo growled.

Mission stuck her tongue out and gave the fierce Mandalorian a raspberry. "What'ever."

"Remember this you little street rat you call me Grandpa Candy one more time, I'll take you over my knee and..."

Zaalbar growled putting his body between his best friend and the ageing mercenary. "You don't want me swatting her hairball, then keep her in line." Canderous growled back. He might not know the Wookiee's native language but he knew enough about the great giants that once you cower before them you forever lost their respect. "What did you find brat?" he turned his attention to the blue skinned teenager.

Mission apparently knew when to push and when to pull back as her answer was straight up. "A body and eww it's been really really pre-chewed," her boot kicked at a hound pile. "Oh this is so gross, judging by what's left of his clothes I think I found our spoiled little richy."

"That's our queue." Ravensong said. She deactivated the stealth belt and descended down the slope by leaping down the embankments ten meters at a time.

Zaalbar and Canderous were the first to hear the Jedi approach, they raised their guns at the intrusion ready to fire but lowered them when they registered it was a friendly.

"Figures you show up now, Whelp" Canderous jibbed.

"Just passing through, Old Man. Heard you found a juicy one."

"Must you?" Bastila chastised the poor choice of words.

"How about 'chew toy'?" Offered Ordo.

"Leftovers." Zaalbar put in.

"Uhg." Bastila shook her head frowning. "Why do I even bother?"

"You're a glutton for punishment, Princess." Ravensong teased laughing. "Just look at that pinched face, you look like a schoolmarm, either that or you're trying to impersonate Master Vandar."

The Jedi Sentinel sighed, she should have known better than to feed Nagai's childish nature by baiting her by with disciplinary words. It only encouraged her and by proxy the others who eagerly followed her example. The only way out now was to change the subject. "What did you find Mission?"

"A gooey body covered in hound poodoo," the Twi'lek answered. "And yeah the body or what's left of looks a lot like a chew toy."

Bastila looked at the body and grimaced, 'chew toy' didn't half cover the description of the mutilated corpse. All of the entrails were gone as were the limbs, though there seemed to be bits and pieces left over and most of the torso was so gnawed upon the only part left was food for the insects now nesting in it. What was left of the head was barely recognizable as human. Only her Jedi training allowed Bastila to overcome the nausea she felt rise within her. She tasted bile in her throat but forced it way with sheer willpower.

"Oh gods I think I'm going to be sick." Carth groaned and looked away looking as green as the Jedi Bolook.

Skye meandered over to the scrap pile and shared Bastila's expression of disgust. Something glinted in the refuse. A quick wave of her hand caused the piles of dung, bones and rotting meat to shift aside like some mythic parting of a miniature sea.

"Looks like there's a journal," she said as she picked it up and shook off the maggots and beetles.

"EWWW!" Mission groaned and promptly vomited. "That's as grotty as Fido's glop pile. Why can't it ever be something nice-like flowers or or or plush toys? Why does it always have to be gross stuff?"

"Nature of the universe," came a quick reply from Ravensong. "Things you look for and need will always, always be difficult to find and generally involve gross crap to dig through."

"Unfortunately that is more true than not." Bastila agreed. "So did the pad belong Matale's son?"

The raven haired Nagai shook her head. "Negative. It belongs to someone named Casus Sandral."

"I get the feeling this makes things a hell of a lot more difficult." Carth commented.

"Indeed. If things were not difficult between the two families already this will make things nearly impossible," Bastila sighed. "And this is going to need a delicate hand." She pointedly gave Skye a look that said '_behave_'.

"What?" the older woman shrugged. "I can do delicate when I need to." She waltzed up to her counterpart and gave her an odd counter-look of defiance. "All part of being a scout. You play a role, infiltrate when needed and milk all potential contacts for Intel. The more subtle you are the more successful you are. A noticed scout is a dead scout."

Bastila froze where she stood. Was there inference in that remark? Her mind floated through the bond she shared with the other woman but found walls around the Nagai's deeper consciousness. The block made Bastila all the more concerned; she knew Skye was referencing something else. Did Skye know the truth? How could she? Surely the Masters had not let slip anything vital. Or maybe Skye had picked something up from their connection? Had the bond shown the former Dark Lord things, shown her the true fate of Revan? What about the dreams of the fight Bastila had with Revan on the fallen Jedi's old flagship, had they revealed to Skye the veiled truth?

Skye always said it was like watching the scene unfold as if she was in third person, like watching a home-vid of yourself only you're not actually one of the players. Bastila shoved down her immediate thoughts least Skye pick up them. The Nagai gave her a queer smirk before she turned her back and headed up the hillock to where they had parked the swoop bikes.

"Daylight is burning Princess, Flyboy, get a move on," the former Dark-Lord called out. "Oh and good job guys. Canderous keep up with their training."

~KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR~

Like the Matale droid the Sandral gate-droid rattled off that the land was private property and then riddled them by their rights of trespass. It got the same answer as well, its reaction however could not have been more different.

"The Council? If you are here about the Shen Matale disappearance you are wasting your time. The Sandrals are not involved. This is nothing but a Matale witch hunt."

Skye had had enough. Green lighting shot out and obliterated the droid into a thousand sparks and drops of metallic shrapnel.

"That was... effective." Carth said. "I thought you said you can do delicate."

"I don't do delicate with clankers."

Teethree made a worried bleep.

"Present company excluded of course little buddy." Skye patted the astromech droid on his cylindrical head.

There was a pleased almost joyful beeping in respond.

"The Jedi are not in league with the Matales! Nurik, I will speak with you now! Teethree, open that door." Skye roared loud enough that someone inside had to have heard it.

The astromech droid bleeped a reply and proceeded to obey its master.

As the metallic pneumatic door slid open, another protocol droid was within the hall- it nervously looked to the Jedi and back the way it came.

"Summon your master, droid." Ravensong said darkly.

"He is on his way Master Jedi." This one was a touch more cordial as well, perhaps more out of fear that it would share the same fate as its twin should it press the Nagai Jedi.

"I have been informed by my protocol droid that you want wish to speak to me?" Nurik started haughtily. "You of course realize I will demand reimbursement for the destruction of my property."

Skye ignored the demand and took a step forward. In her hand was the bloody data pad. "I am sorry Mr. Sandral your son is dead we have seen his body."

This shook the man to his core whatever response he had to the Jedi's impertinence died on his tongue upon hearing her next words. "Casus? Is dead?" His eyes grew dark with sorrow. "I was afraid of this. Yet in my heart I knew it. What... what happened to my son?"

Skye looked remorseful, taking pity on the old man she said in a soft tone, "He was killed by kath hounds while exploring the old ruins."

This shocked the human. "Kath hounds? I... I was so certain the Matale family was to blame!" He sighed, "but this changes nothing. My own son is dead, why should I show compassion to my bitter enemy over the disappearance of his son?"

"Because you know what it is like to feel this kind of loss." Skye said gently. "The sins of the fathers should not touch the children."

"Typical," Bastila said chiding the stubborn land baron; there was no pity in her cold, disapproving voice. "He wants to continue the feud just because he is so very customary to it."

Sandral looked for a moment as if he was questioning his own beliefs, but it was only a flicker of emotion like a mote of dust caught in the air. Seen one moment gone the very next. "I must ask you something. Though it is difficult for me. My son had a diary, his private personal thoughts. Now that he is gone, I have nothing else to remember him by. Please, the diary means more to me than it ever could to you. I will give you a hundred..." tears were shining in the man's eyes.

"No need. Here, take it." Skye surrendered the pad.

"I thank you for this." He clutched it to his breast as if it were a precious life. "The diary is all I have left of my son," he swallowed hard and started to disappear. "We have nothing further to discuss, please leave me to my grief."

As soon as he left a young woman appeared, the remembrance was remarkable, another Sandral offspring no doubt. "You are here from the Council are you not?" she said stopping in front of the trio. "Looking for Shen Matale?"

Despite the resemblance, Skye was not about to speak to the girl until she presented herself. "Who are you?"

"My name is Rahasia, Nurik is my father. He has not been himself since my brother Casus disappeared. He is mad with grief and he is convinced the Matales are responsible. He is not thinking rationally."

_This __does__ not bode well._ "Did he have anything to do with Shen?"

"My father is a good man," Rahasia pleaded. "When my mother died, he raised me and my brother by himself. He loves his children and we love him. I just don't want you to judge him too harshly."

"Judge him?" A frown. "What has he done?"

"You must understand. My father has been under a terrible strain. I have no wish to disobey him, but there are matters where even my father's authority are not absolute."

This was looking more and more grim. "Please tell me what has happened." Skye processed the words spoken and those that were not.

Ashamed the young girl continued. "My father has kidnapped Shen. He is holding him prisoner here in the compound. He feels this is a way to get back at Ahlan for the disappearance of my brother Casus."

"I see." Bastila said. "Well there is the answer that we seek. The Jedi Council should be informed of this at once."

"You don't think perhaps there is more to look at here?" Carth argued "That maybe everything is not as it appears?" he gave a calculated look to the young woman, then to the way Skye was studying her.

"Of course not. It seems very simple to me. The Council must be allowed to decide to take the next step," Bastila said firmly.

"NO!" Rahasia shook her head imploringly desperate. "When Casus went missing my father became unstable. He might hurt him... Shen if you do that. Father no longer cares if the Matales are reasonable for what happened to Casus. I am afraid my father will simply kill him out of a mad and misguided lust for vengeance."

Skye surprised herself that she was actually siding with Carth on this. The body language from the human girl was more than enough to tell her there was a far deeper story here. "There are bigger things here," Skye said still scrutinizing Rahasia. "Why are you telling us of this?"

"Shen is an innocent victim in all of this. My father is not a bad man but his grief has driven him to madness," she repeated. "He must be stopped. Please find Shen and rescue him before my father does something we will all regret forever," she begged.

Skye nodded causing the woman-child to smile just slightly. "I will take you to the prison, but I can not let my father see me with you. Take this key, it will open the unguarded door at the rear of the estate. You and Shen can make your escape through there. Be careful, there are many security detail droids guarding the halls. I don't think you will be able to take care of them as you did the one out front."

The Nagai smiled a little at that last comment.

Feeling bold, Rahasia grabbed Skye's arms and once more pleased. "Please hurry you are Shen's only hope."

"Place your fear aside," Skye said taping in to the power of the Force as she willed the command into the younger woman's mind. The human let go of the Jedi's arms and took a step back. "What is it between your families?" the Jedi pressed, this time she did not use the Force to will compliance.

"Ahlan Matale and my father have had problems ever since they had settled on this world. To hear my father tell it, Ahlan is a brute and a bully and a vicious one. He believes that his money gives him the right to crush anyone and roll over normal people. My father stands up to Ahlan because no one else will. And now he thinks Ahlan has taken my brother Casus and has imprisoned Shen as revenge."

"But he was killed by kath hounds." Carth said.

"It doesn't matter," the girl shook her head.

"Why do you care so much about Shen, Rahasia?" Skye pushed. She gathered it was going to be the obvious star-crossed lover thing but she needed the girl to say it if only to gage the true sincerity behind the words and feelings.

"Shen and I... well we've been raised by our families to hate each other just for being related to our fathers. But then I met Shen alone one day in the city, away from his father," She smiled, her eyes twinkling warmly. "And Shen was so charming and sweet and nice... and handsome... and he didn't care at all that I was a Sandral," her voice held a dreamy quality. "He just accepted me for who I was with no reservations. We talked and met again over many months and fell in love." She smiled broadly. "My brother Casus met him too and they hit it off. They were beginning to become friends," the smile faded as a deep sadness washed over Rahasia. "Then this whole mess had to happen." She held her hands close to her chest. "Please find Shen. You are my only hope!"

"We will go but I need the security override for the droids and computer systems and a layout of your house would also be beneficial."

"But if I do that my father will know I gave them to you."

"Rahasia, he will know something is up the moment Shen is gone. You want to save your lover or not? Now is not the time to be a pansy-assed milk drinker." Skye said firmly. "Give us the codes so we can save your guy."

"Oh... okay," the girl said, "I guess you're right, here- I can give a blue print of the house to your droid and allow him access to the terminal over there. It would help with the security systems, unless Father changed them in the secure wing."

"If he did, we can slice the systems but it will be easier going if he had some sort of access." Skye's voice reclaimed her earlier gentleness.

~KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR~

The companions encountered no impediments on the way to the estate's rear entrance. Carth was about to use the keycard Rahasia gave them but Skye held her fist up in military sign to stop- freezing Carth instantly.

"She closed her eyes and stretched out her mind. The Force allowed her to see past the door into the room just beyond. "No immediate life signs close. I can sense droids; two right at the entrance looking at it and another two patrolling."

Bastila was more than impressed. She always had a difficult time sensing the presence of mechanical signatures such as droids. Skye seemed to be able to do it with ease. Then again Revan had a unique talent for the mechanical and robotics.

"Teethree check for any unusual electronic signatures," the Jedi Padawan ordered. If Sandral was as paranoid as his daughter made him out to be then the whole place could be wired with some very nasty traps.

Her hesitation was awarded with confirmation by the astromech's whirling beep. "That's just great." She turned back to the others and explained. "He says there are two proximity gas mines near the door.

"If the droids don't get you the mine will make sure you have a seriously bad day," quipped Onasi. "This isn't a simple snatch and grab."

"Is it ever easy?" Skye jibbed back. "Keep cloaked and use the audio dampers- no need to make our presence known if we don't have to. As soon as the door opens, Teethree I want you to transmit a short energy pulse to jam the sensors on the mines, then I want you to find the security station, shut down all security mechs and cameras. If that girl's codes don't work then slice it. I want to avoid as much attention as possible.

"Carth deactivate the mines after Teethree blinds them then cover our six and make sure our egress stays clear. Bas you and I take out the droids guarding the door and on patrol."

No one questioned the orders; it was as if following them was as natural as drawing in breath to the lungs.

The door slid open and Teethree emitted the pulse so Carth could creep forward and disarm the mines. Of course the little astromech droid cold have disarmed them as well but Skye's multi-tasking scheme was better implemented if the droid didn't pause. His sensors alerted the droid to the mines locations allowing him to easily negotiate around them and head for the office as directed. As the little guy wasn't equipped with stealth capabilities he had to rely on his skills to manipulate any droid he passed into believing he belonged there.

The droids near the door stopped and pointed their assault riffles at Teethree but he hooted and bleeped at them with an indignant tone causing them to withdraw.

Carth made quick work of defusing the mines; the whole process took less than a minute. Skye had been holding her breath the whole time only releasing it when she heard her radio click, the equivalent of an invisible thumbs up from Onasi.

Ravensong and Bastila moved to either side of the entrance, backs pressed against the exterior wall of the building. Carth remained crouched lower, in line with the door a few meters away. Three lightsabers ignited: one black, one green and the other yellow.

The droids turned to the sound of the weapons coming to life but that was the only movement they made as blurs of defused mass and light surged forward. Lightsabers whirled and two metallic heads fell, bounced on the floor and rolled half a meter from their bodies which crumpled to earth seconds later.

The patrolling security droids moved towards the sounds of the conflict. They were just bringing their weapons into firing positions when Skye brought up her hand, holding the droid fast with the power of the Force. Laser bolts were blocked, weapons were knocked aside and the remaining droid was reduced to scrap metal.

Teethree rolled into the security room. One of the droids turned. "Hey you, you are not permitted in here!"

Teethree spat out a series of harsh bleeps, tweets and whistles that shocked the security droid.

"Switch off?! I will not switch off you over-weight glob of grease," the droid reached for his blaster riffle. "Who do you think you are?"

Teethree whirpled a sharp reply just as he opened one of his ports revealing a prong that sent a series of ion bolts into the taller droid's chassis and destroyed the enemy's shields. The bipedal droid shuttered. Unable to move, the droid was completely vulnerable to the electro-shock blasts. It toppled face forward onto the floor.

Teethree moved away from his downed foe with a beep of elation over his success. His next target was the computer terminal. He linked with it and started the override commands. The codes Rahasia gave the companions seemed to still be in operation. It was only a matter of seconds before the little silver astromech droid shut down all the cameras and security droids and opened all locked doors. He whirled away from the panel and tweeted into his internal comm-unit directly to his master.

Ravensong nodded. "Got it, thanks and good job Teethree," she got a happy whirpled bleep in reply. She hit the audio dampers on her stealth-belt so she could be heard as she spoke to the others. "Teethree's in, we wont have any more trouble. He caught sight of our target before he shut down the cameras; I have the nav point locked. Let's go get this kid." She deactivated her belt completely and started down the corridors.

A moment latter both Bastila and Carth followed suit. They passed several deactivated droids all slumped over from the shoulders down. Ravensong wasn't going to take any chances with them suddenly becoming active once more, she began to liberally behead one after the other.

"Is there a point to this reckless destruction of property?" Bastila asked of the former Dark Lord.

"Yes," came an answer and for a moment it appeared that was all the explanation she was going to deliver. "They will be a threat if activated during our escape, I have no intention of allowing that."

"Sound plan." Carth nodded in approval. "Though I doubt Sandral will like the fact more of his droids are destroyed."

Skye gave him a look that said: _'ask me if I care.'_

"Very well." Bastila said softly, she didn't exactly approve but she understood the logic behind it. Their escape would be that much easier if droids were completely rendered inert.

It took less time finding the boy than the trio expected. As Teethree promised the doors had all been unlocked. And there was only one proximity mine placed in front of the doors which Carth deactivated with deft aptitude. Once the mine was gone, Ravensong opened the door and entered the cell.

"Who are you what do you want?" the young man demanded as he lept from the bed he had been resting upon. "So you work for my father."

"Take a good look boy." Skye said. "Do we look like goons your father would hire?"

Shen saw the lightsabers and seemed to relax his posturing stance a little. "Jedi?"

"Yes and we're here to rescue you. Let's go." Skye pointed her thumb over her shoulder impatiently.

"No." Shen shook his head. "I won't leave here. It's too dangerous."

"Stop being such a coward. I'll protect your pampered little ass, now let's go." Arms folded over the Nagai's chest.

"No you misunderstand. It's not my own safety I'm concerned about the fate of Nurik's daughter Rahasia," he said in a softer tone. "She's been trying to convince her father to release me ever since I was captured. If I escape now Nurik will think Rahasia is to blame. He's..."

"Yes yes I know." Skye all but rolled her eyes. "Insane with grief over the loss of his male heir- his boy Casus."

"So then you know if I leave with you, Rahasia will suffer... I will not allow that." He crossed his arms as if to make himself more imposing.

"What's the deal with you two anyway?" Skye asked, her tone demanding.

"I was taught to hate the Sandrals. To think of them as evil and subhuman. My father said Sandrals are nothing but thieves and liars who followed him here to Dantooine just to steal what he has earned from himself. My father is an egotist and can be violent at times. Rahasia father seems to be falling into the same pattern as mine. They are both unreasonable.

"But the moment I saw Rahasia one day in the city market I knew my father was wrong. She was like an angel, all white silks and perfume, seemingly able to float above the crowds. I don't know what else I could have done but fall in love with her. For months I wooed her, trying to win her heart. I believe I have succeeded and now this has happened." The kid unfolded his defiant arms and slumped on to the bed. "Our families are always coming between us in one way or another," he snapped frustrated. "Please, please find her. I would rather face my own death than have any harm come to..."

"Why the two of you must be so overly dramatic is beyond me." Skye said, and as swiftly as a viper strikes she snapped out her hand and caught the kid by the ear.

He let out a surprised yelp of shock and pain. "Hey!" he tied to take her hand away but her grip was too strong and it was rather painful from the grimace on his face. The shock of surprise on both Bastila and Carth was priceless. "Let go of me!"

"Listen up little punk and listen good. I'm not some toady or hireling your pampered ass is used to bossing around. And I am not about to run back and forth like some bloody youngling in class and tug on your girlfriend's hair and pass fracking lovey-dovey notes. You're both coming now. If you two want to run away together and live happily ever fracking after, fine by me but I'm not playing this gods damn game, got it drama king?"

"Okay okay just let GO!" he tried futilely to pull away but it was of no use, the more he struggled, the harder Skye pinched.

"Sure, scream your bloody head off human and bring the whole house down around our ears." Skye snapped crossly.

"You sure have a way with kids, Ravensong," Carth laughed though he touched his own ear in sympathy.

"Please let go," the boy managed in a more subdued squeak.

"No, not until we get to Rahasia's door. I know what you're planning boy and no one is playing martyr today." Skye pulled the young man behind her like a misbehaving youngling and moved swiftly around the corridors to the room Rahasia had secreted herself in.

"What on earth?" Rahasia said when she saw the foursome.

"She has my ear," the Matale boy whined, pointing out the bluntly obvious position he was in.

Skye let go of her catch. "Happy now?"

The young Matale boy glowered at the Jedi rubbing his very red ear. "Did you have to yank so hard?"

"Why did you have him like that anyway?" Rahasia asked as she touched the soar area tenderly trying to offer comfort to her lover.

"No time for lengthy explanations your boyfriend here wouldn't budge until we got you out too, now both of you MOVE it!" ordered the former Dark Lord shoving both youngsters out of bedroom and into the hall.

Negotiating the way out didn't take as long as navigating the path in, granted there were no proximity mines in play nor patrol droids. Once outside the human lovers looked at one another in relief. They hugged tightly.

"Shen you're safe." Rahasia kissed her lover's still red ear gently.

They both looked to the Jedi who had freed them. "Thank you master Jedi. We would never have managed to get this far at all without your help. You've done so much for us" the girl crooned gleefully before throwing her arms around the Jedi in question.

Skye shrugged as if to say it was no problem and pushed herself gently out of the embrace.

"Now, we know you three—er four went to great personal risk to get us out of the estate undetected." Shen touched his ear obviously having forgiven her for grabbing him as she had. "Surely we can do something in return..." He paused as he saw his father riding into the estate with several well armed mechs. Ahlan looked ready for all out war, he was even dressed in light but heavily modded armour.

"There you are Shen!" Matale said jumping out of the skycar. As soon as his over priced custom-made rancor leather shoes hit the pavement he was storming directly for his son.

"Father...?" Shen looked at the droids and back to his lover then to the Jedi.

Skye's hands hovered over the hilts of her lightsabers; an action not gone unnoticed by the other Jedi.

Carth was looking behind him as the doors to the estate opened with Sandral, in near identical armour and as many droids equally well armed, appeared.

"This is bad," the pilot said realizing that he and the two Jedi as well as the kids were directly in the middle of it all. When and if things got ugly there was no way to not get hit by crossfire- and the Sandral and Matale patriarchs were so filled with loathing for each other they did not seem to care that they were basically firing squads for their own children. Skye and Bastila turned back to back, ready to take out the mechs if necessary, their bodies pulsating with the raw power of the Force.

Before names could be tossed about like careless accusations, Skye through her voice out, loud and clear as a thunder clap. "ENOUGH!"

No one moved, no one dared to breathe.

"Everyone not a Jedi or a Commander of the Republic navy drop your weapons now!" It was a command that could not be disobeyed. Her right hand cracked with green lighting. "Any droid not complying will be scrapped. COMPLY!"

The patriarchs obeyed. The droids obeyed.

"That's better," the Nagai said after a moment. "Now let's be civilized."

"This is all your doing." Ahlan pointed to Nurik, "I... I knew you had captured my son! See Jedi, he has my son. Arrest him. Arrest him now!" it was obvious he thought his voice had the same strength of will the Jedi's had.

"You had taken my Casus from me long before that! You started it."

"I don't want to hear any more of your excuses..." Ahlan roared back.

"I said Enough!" Skye snarled. "Bastila?"

"Absolutely." She stretched out her hand and lifted Ahlan Matale off the ground as Ravensong did to Nurik Sandral.

Both men screamed profanities out at the indignant violation of their pride. Both Shen and Rahasia squeaked in their own shock at seeing their imposing fathers rendered completely impotent by the Jedi.

The droids of both families went for their guns but Teethree and Carth both gave off warning shots. "I wouldn't do that." Onasi cautioned, his words were backed up with a strong bleep from the astromech. "See he agrees. Good boy Teethree."

The droids remained still. It was so very odd to see immovable metal faces look so utterly confounded and so lost for direction.

"She said _civilized_ talks." Bastila said looking directly as Matale. "Petulant threats are not civilized."

"You two need to calm down. Until you promise that, you stay where you are." Skye ordered.

"Please listen to her father." Shen pleaded to his father. He didn't think anyone was as stubborn as his father, but then again he never crossed a Jedi before either. Today was an obvious day of firsts for the young lad.

"Why should I listen to the Jedi?" Matale defiantly refused to capitulate even suspended above the earth as he was. "All you want is to remain with that Sandral harlot!"

"My daughter is not a harlot!" Sandral roared. His shaking fist was more comical was he was still suspended in the air. "You Matale dog!"

Skye and Bastila looked at each other then brought heir hands together causing their floating captives to crack heads together.

"Oah!"

"Ohh."

"Clam down now!" the Nagai threatened. "I have exactly no time for this."

"We will only let you down IF you behave like adults and not younglings throwing temper tantrums." Bastila scolded. "Or do we need to give you two a time out?"

"I hear the holding cells at the enclave are nice enough, maybe they can share a cell together right across from the two murders we put in there earlier," Carth offered.

"Oh, excellent idea." Skye nodded. "I swear there must be something in the water for the populous of Dantooine to behave like inbred yahoos. I mean think about it: two idget galoots try to lie to Jedi to get away with murder now these two sleemos are bickering like kiddies in the playground over who has the best toy. Really? Seriously?"

"Prison. Yes, excellent idea. We can charge them both with mental badgering and Mr. Sandral with kidnapping and false imprisonment and Mr. Matale with warmongering and conspiracy to commit murder," Bastila started.

The patriarchs of the Sandral and Matale estates knew their cards had been played out. There was no back dealings; no reshuffling of the deck... they had lost their ground and only now did they fully realize it.

"WE are trying to be reasonable here of course." Sandral said at last rubbing the spot on his head were it clashed with Matale's. He at least recognized the precarious predicament he was in. "We are sensible people after all."

Skye was expressionless. But she lowered her captive down as did Bastila.

Matale, still looking like a spoiled bully, spouted. "Our children are... they are just stubborn. If Shen would just realize he has to do what I want this would all be solved easily."

"Phft..." Skye made a sound of disbelief. "Shen is capable of making his decisions on his own. Honestly he's over what, over twenty years of age?"

"But he is my son! I don't want to lose him!" the older Matale whined sounding remarkably like his son only moments ago when Skye had the kid by his ear.

"You are losing him if you continue on this path." Ravensong said evenly.

"And I won't let my daughter go with him!" Sandral barked.

"Children grow up and leave eventually." Skye bluntly retorted.

Sandral did not see a grown woman, he saw a six year old girl with pigtails and skinned knees. "My little Rahasia."

"Father..." She said softly.

"I don't know why we go like this," Sandral said addressing Matale. "We got along in the beginning, didn't we Ahlan?"

"I don't know how you can think of that when we have our children trying to go away together," the other man snarled.

"Well it wouldn't be so bad would it?" Sandral said thinking about his daughter. "Shen seems to genuinely care for my Rahasia. He might be a good husband... for her someday."

"Humph!" Ahlan growled. "As much as I may dislike it, I may see the appeal of them together."

"Good. Then you will allow them to stay together?" Ravensong said her tone warning them they had best continue this more civilized tone of conversation.

Matale dropped his arms and nodded "I suppose I could be convinced to see that Sandral girl with my son, _if _she is loyal to him. But I don't trust you a centimetre further old man," he snapped at Sandral loathing him for the sake of it. His love for his hate for the Sandals almost overcoming him once more. "Your daughter may treat Shen well but you will never SEE them! They will Live with ME!"

"Of course not you pompous old windbag! They will Live with me!" Sandral jabbed his thumb into his own chest.

"Compromise." Sky warned.

"I will not have them set foot in a Sandral household!" Matale stomped his foot.

"They shall not be with the Matales!" Sandral thrust his hands out in an exaggerated stance of refusal.

Taking a page out of the Nagai Jedi's book Rahasia a took a step between the posturing males. "Then you propose to buy us our own lands and our own estate. In the middle of both properties."

"Yes, with a set equal budget that Rahasia and I set." Shen said taking a bolder stand as he put his arm around his beloved. "And if you don't, _you_ two will never see US again as we will leave Dantooine."

"Shared or not at all." Rahasia finished. "Your choice fathers."

_Good girl_ Skye thought.

"A separate estate. Yes! That sounds like a good idea." Sandral said.

"Yes it does sound like a good idea." Matale nodded sounding for once descent. "That plot of land that..."

"Connects ours with the brook and the grove of tress. It's small," Sandral finished the thought.

"But perfect for them. We should discuss this more."

The men stared talking about the house as they walked back in to the Sandral estate.

Shen let out a puff of held air, his shoulders slumped foreword in relief. "Thank you master Jedi for brining us all together and making our parents accepts us."

"I never thought it would be possible." Rahasia took Skye's hand and shook it vigorously before doing the same to Bastila's. "We will praise your names to the Council for what you have done and name our children after you both!" Unable to contain her joy she wrapped her arms around Bastila then around Skye then lastly around Onasi. "We will remember you three always."

~KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR~KOTOR~

Back at the Enclave.

Vandar walked up to Skye smiling impishly. "I have heard the Sandrals and the Matales have agreed to cooperate in the construction of a new estate to house their children. Apparently the son of one family and the daughter of the other are getting married," his smile broadened. "I also hear we have you to thank for this happy occurrence," he nodded approvingly. "I am glad you are using the authority of our Order we have given you to achieve some measure of good. Master Bolook also commented on how well you'd conducted the murder investigation. He says you wield an uncanny mind for ferreting out deceit and investigation."

Ravensong turned to the Grand Master. "I listen to the sounds of the Living Force, Master. And I was made a scout for a reason, the body tells me much as does the unspoken word and those that are spoken and say nothing in their utterance. Some words are so clouded, some actions so blurred it would be easy to follow them and think them truth. I have learned my focus determines my reality. Do you not agree with this precept Master?"

"Spoken like a true Jedi, young one indeed it is," the aged Grand Master answered softly. "I foresee you will become a powerful Jedi," the Master titled his head.

"Thank you Master." Skye bowed. "With your permission I wish begin preparations for the trip into the ruins."

"Yes of course. May the Force be with you young Ravensong."


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

"I believe the Council wished only you, me and Carth to go into the ruins." Bastila said as they were mounting the swoop bikes.

"Oh they might have insinuated that but they didn't insist. And even if they did I'm not complying." Skye responded matter-of-factly. "The others have to know what's at stake and what they're risking their lives for, Bastila. Right now we're united by hate- and that is a fragile alliance at best. Mission wants Malak because of Taris maybe Big Z too if only for her; Canderous is Mandalorian- he's sporting for a fight, and Zaalbar outside watching over Mission is searching for himself, for honor and I don't know why. Carth, well he has massive anger issues anyway and he definitely wants fracking payback.

"You and I... have a Code we must follow and will follow because of who we are. This isn't a way to unite a team Bastila, not by hate, we both know it. The Council has been sitting in nice cushy seats for far too long. They've forgotten what it's like out in the field trying to get a team to work together that 'aint military. They have forgotten what its like to work with non-Jedi.

"You and I are responsible for all of them, Bas. We have to make them want this. We have to make them want this more than they want their hate or battle lust. They have to _see_ whatever stirred up Revan and Malak for themselves. I can't ask 'em to risk life and limb and keep them in the dark. And telling them what we saw is no good either. They have to _**see**_. They're going in and after we finish up if they want to walk, then they can walk. I won't hold them to this. But at least they're in the know. We deal with what is in front of us- right now it's the ruin and what's inside."

Bastila found herself agreeing with Ravensong's outlined reasons for defying the Council's 'recommendations' for infiltrating the ruins. The others needed to know that was expected of them, what they were being asked to risk their lives for. It was something they had to experience for themselves.

The others filed out of the Enclave and took their perspective bikes: Mission ridding with Skye; they had Teethree strapped to the back of their swoop bike. Carth joined Bastila leaving Ordo and Big Z. The last two created a comical image-a massive wookiee sitting behind a muscle bound Mandalorian. It wasn't an image that sprang naturally to mind.

Blue-grey eyes fell on Mission as the young girl settled in behind her hero on the bike. The Twi'lek was practically bubbling over with excitement, twittering away like an Alderaanian cairoka bird. The former dark lord smiled indulgently as she listened to the girl's chatter, answering questions and even making a few jokes. Nostalgia struck the Jedi Sentinel hard as she recalled similar moments back before Revan's fall to the Dark Side. The part that Bastila had fallen in love with, the part of her that she was falling for once more.

Perhaps sensing her thoughts Skye looked up meeting Bastila's gaze. The Nagai's smile brightened which had a causative effect on the other woman inspiring Bastila to return the smile. The wink made Bastila blush slightly and she quickly turned away.

"You like her." Mission giggled in the Jedi's pointed ear as they zipped across the plains.

"Sure I do, I like you and Big Z too. Grandpa Candy is tolerable enough and hey who doesn't like an astrodroid?"

The young Tarisian giggled at the use of the merc's new nickname. She also noted Carth was deliberately left off the list. Mission highly doubted that relationship would repair itself any time soon. She jostled Ravensong glibly in the back as they rode, "You know what I mean. You _like_ her like her. I saw that wink and that smile, you really really like her."

"Yes I guess I do. Bas is smart, beautiful, sexy and talented even if she puts on a bit of airs she's..." Skye stopped, keeping the word _angel_ to herself. "Guess I have it bad."

"Yep," Mission nodded, "sooo whatta' ya going to do about it? I mean being Jedi... and those rules and all."

"Well the one about attachments is... mostly a guideline from my understanding of things. And guidelines don't have to be followed... strictly speaking."

"So er... 'strictly speaking', how you gonna make Bastila not follow them guidelines?"

Ravensong craned her head over her shoulder and flashed her most seductive, alluring smile which caused butterflies to flock within the young scoundrel's tummy. "Oh... I have my ways, youngling," she winked causing Mission to blush deeply. "I think I can handle a little Jedi seduction." Skye smiled once more as she purred the next two words. "Trust me."

Mission cast a look over to the speeder bike Bastila was driving then back to her hero. "I hope you get her Skye, you two belong together. I know it. You two, you're so beautiful together... so cute." Mission swooned. "I bet you'll get together, then you'll be married and then what if... what if the Force let you both have a kid? Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

Skye smirked, "What- marriage, old age and a lot of little Jedi children?"

"The first two, why not? " Mission shrugged happily. "And hey you Jedi say the Force moves in mysterious ways so maybe it can, I don't know, help you conceive a child between you both. So sure, why not all three?"

Skye lost herself in the idea of possibilities. It wasn't until they came to the standing stones of the ancient ruins that the former Sith lord recalled herself.

"Hey Skye... you okay?" Mission seemed to sense the sudden change in Ravensong. "I didn't mean to cloud your mind with, you know, stuff."

"Yeah. Just... thinking. No worries my little one you didn't cloud my mind," the Nagai answered. She looked at the standing stones for a long moment before she spoke again. "Look Kiddo you're going to do something. If things get to hairy, or too big, you hit your damn stealth belt and get the hell out of there- you and Zaalbar."

"Skye..."

"No!" the word was a strike of force in the young woman's mind. "You and Zaalbar get the frack out. Whatever is in there was heady enough to do something to Revan and Malak before they turned. It was enough to make them rethink everything; it bent and twisted everything they believed in. So if things get too ugly, you and Big Z get off this planet and get lost in that big Black. If you let it the 'verse will swallow you whole and that is just what you're going to do. I want you both to disappear."

Mission nodded, "I will Skye. I can be pretty good at disappearing."

"Good girl. Now that's not to say I don't want you and Teethree slicing any tech in there and doing your magic. I know Canderous has been teaching you about munitions; we just might need things to go boom."

Mission smiled. "Don't worry Skye. We got this."

Ravensong nodded. "Then let's do it"

KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~

The wind blew out the northeast in cold, fierce gusts. It billowed every free-hanging piece of cloth worn by the companions as it whispered and whistled through the ancient ruins. Centuries of dust swirled in miniature cyclones. A black metallic cylindrical figure stepped out of the gloom of the vault's shadows.

It didn't look like anything the companions had ever seen before. It stood two meters high, crawling towards them on four clanking spider legs. Its body was segmented into three sections not unlike an insect. Three yellow sensors shimmered out of its 'head.'

Everyone, including the Jedi, brought their weapons to bare waiting for the droid to react. Which it did, but not as any of them had expected. It just spoke. Though it did so in a strange and unfamiliar language. Skye frowned looking to Bastila to see if she recognized it, but the younger Jedi seemed as lost as she.

"What language is that? What are you trying to say?"

Again is spoke this time is something that almost seemed to be a dialect of the Tusken Raiders, the sand people of Tatooine. But again Skye, who was a poly-linguist, could not fathom the words.

"Bastila do you have any idea what it's saying?" the Jedi said.

"I think the droid is trying to communicate with us by cycling through a variety of native languages. Each time it spoke it was using a very different alien dialect." Bastila answered loquaciously. "The droid can probably understand us. The only problem is the droid may not be programmed with the phonemes of a language we understand."

"But don't you speak a whole bunch of languages, Skye?" Mission asked.

Once more the droid spoke and once more it was another dialect.

"Hey! I understood that," the Nagai brightened up

What the droid had said was: "I can use any language of the slaves of the Builders."

"I recognize this language as well." Bastila echoed Skye's jubilation. "It's an ancient variant of Selkath dialect used on Manaan," her brow furrowed. "But why would a droid on Dantooine be programmed with ancient Selkath?"

"Communication is vital to ensure the slaves that constructed this temple understood the wishes of the Builders," the droid answered. "But you are not of the slave species nor are you the Builders. You are like the other one who came before."

Bastila swallowed. "It must be referring to Revan," she cast a nervous glance to the former Dark Lord. In an instant the charade she was forced to play in the shadows of truth might be dragged into the light. "The Dark Lord and Malak likely encountered this droid when they explored these ruins."

Skye noted the title but said nothing as she retuned her attentions to the ancient droid. "What are you? Why are you here, are you some kind of guardian?"

"I am the Overseer. The Builders programmed me to enforce discipline among the slaves while this monument to the power of the Star Forge was constructed. At the conclusion of the project and the execution of all slaves involved, I was reprogrammed to remain at this site should any Builder seek information about the Star Forge."

"How long have you been here?"

"My chronological circuitry marks that I have been here over ten full revolutions of this system's outermost plant around the sun since the Builders left."

"Ten revolutions would take more than twenty thousand years. If this is true then this droid is nearly five thousand years older than the Republic itself!" Bastila shook her head in disbelief. "There... there... must to be some mistake."

"There is no mistake. The Builders had equipped me with chronological circuitry using the same technology used to construct the Star Forge itself. My calculations are infallible," came a digitized, if somewhat indignant, answer.

"Who are the Builders you keep talking about?" Skye demanded.

"The Builders are the great masters of the galaxy. They are conquers of the worlds. The leaders of the Infinite Empire and they are the creators of the Star Forge."

"These Builders must be an extinct people. But it is strange that there are no records and even the archives of the Jedi academy make no mention of them." Bastila frowned. "In the years before the Republic, the Hutts were a dominant force in the galaxy but they never constructed an empire. In fact I know of no species that would fit with this information."

"Something must have happened to wipe the Builders out." Skye concluded. "Some kind of intergalactic extinction level event. Or they turned on each other."

"The Empire of the Builders is Infinite and everlasting. Their might unchallenged as is the power of the Star Forge."

"Have you seen a Builder recently?" Skye challenged the increasingly aggravating droid.

"I have been here ever since the completion of the monument all this time with no interaction with a Builder since the completion of the Star Forge."

"Okay so what is this Star Forge?" pressed Ravensong.

"The Star Forge is the glory of the Builders, the apex of their Infinite Empire and their unstoppable conquest."

"But what is IT!?" Skye was losing her temper. She had just about enough of the Builder propaganda poodoo.

"The Star Forge is the glory of the Builders, the apex..."

"Oh do shut up. I get that part." Skye snapped.

The Nagai felt Bastila's gentling hand upon her shoulder. "The droid is obviously not programmed with the knowledge we seek. The Star Forge must be a device, a weapon perhaps. In fact it could be anything." Bastila sighed dejectedly.

Feeling calmer because of Bastila's influence quieting her storm, Skye's voice was no longer sharp. "Could it have been a factory? Or a weapons plant?"

Bastila nodded, leaning more of her weight on the taller woman without actually realizing she was doing so. "Maybe. That would explain why the Sith were able to gain a massive fleet so quickly. But I suspect this Star Forge is more powerful than a mere factory. Maybe the droid has more information we can use. It seems to respond to you," she whispered softly looking into deep ocean blue eyes. "Perhaps you should ask it something else?"

Skye nodded; there was something to that, but the Jedi didn't think the antiquated automaton was responding to her as much as it was to 'Revan'. "I'll give it a go, Babe. But I doubt it has anything more. Still... it couldn't hurt." She folded her arms under her breasts and looked directly into the yellow sensor of the droid's ocular device. "What is your purpose here now? Where can we find the Star Forge?"

"I am here to test those that seek that knowledge-those that are like you, not Builders, not slaves and find them worthy. The information about the Star Forge is sealed behind the two locked doors on either side of the monument. There was another who came but he was not worthy and paid the ultimate price."

Bastila turned looking at the body of an elderly human man. He looked as if he had suffered concentrated blaster fire. "The droid must be talking about poor Nemo. The Council sent him here to investigate and it cost him his life."

"Did you kill the Jedi laying there?" Skye demanded.

"I am not programmed for combat. I did not harm the one who failed. He faced the guardians beyond the doors."

"So how do I prove worthy?" for a moment Skye felt as if she were back on Taris talking to old Wrinkle Skin in the Undercity.

"You must face the trials left by the Builders, behind each locked door. Those seeking knowledge must understand the worlds of the Builders. Those who fail will be destroyed." Overseer explained.

"That doesn't sound good. We don't even know what the Builders really are." Carth piped up. "If theses tests can beat a Jedi, I would place safe odds on some of us not coming out on top."

"Revan and Malak unlocked the sealed doors and uncovered the secretes of the Star Forge. Now Malak is using the Star Forge to fuel his conquest against the Republic. We have to find out that they uncovered. We have to find away to unseal these doors to learn more about the Star Forge. The Republic is depending on us." Bastila said commandingly.

"I agree but... some of us shouldn't be tested." Carth's hint was loud enough and unnecessary. Skye was already thinking of how to send Mission and Zaalbar away that wouldn't humiliate them, especially after Bastila's comment of being counted upon them succeeding.

"That's the problem with some of you Republic types." Ordo deliberately goaded Onasi completely ignoring what was being said between the lines. "A test 'aint no real test unless you're willing to risk your life on it. And beating a Jedi isn't that tough if you're smart about it."

Skye looked to a nervous looking Mission and an ill-looking Wookiee. "Someone has to bring Nemo back to the Enclave."

"I had my share of corpse-duty." Canderous shook his head. "Find another for that detail."

"Mission, Zaalbar if you would be so kind as to do this for the Jedi I'd appreciate it." Skye said diplomatically giving the teenagers an opportunity to save face.

It suddenly dawned on the Mandalorian why Skye brought the subject up. And he actually agreed with it. This was no place for a kid, even a street-smart kid from Taris or her Wookiee pal. They weren't quite up to the task. Well the big walking carpet might have been but the girl would only get in the way.

"Um okay if you're sure um... yeah okay," the cerulean skinned Twi'lek bobbed her head. Her lekku relaxed a bit now that she was allowed to leave. Besides, Skye was counting on her to do the right thing for the poor old guy that bought the farm. Yep, she could do that no probs.

"The Jedi should be returned to his people." Zaalbar barked in his native tongue. In his dark brown eyes both Jedi saw relief that Mission was being put out of harm's way.

'_Nicely spoken and wisely played._' Bastila spoke through their bond. Along with her words and her approval a little something more slipped though. The human was swift to conceal her growing affection but it had touched Skye's heart all the same. It had caused her to smile.

Bastila knew her heart's truth touched Skye deeply. She turned her face not for shame that she was going to love this woman (again) but because a sudden bout of shyness.

Skye walked past Bastila touching the side of her cheek as she did so. The Nagai forced her attention to the droid.

"Overseer you will open those doors, for we will take this test of your Builders and find ourselves worthy. You will comply."

"The doors are open," the droid said. "Your trials begin."

"We gonna hit this two by two?" Carth asked which caused Teethree to bleat indignantly at being left out.

"He didn't _i__ntentionally_ mean to ignore you Little Guy." Ravensong patted the droid on his cylindrical head. "Onasi's a little slow on the uptake that you're a person too," this caused the astromech droid to bleep happily and almost arrogantly. Teethree also created a 'raspberry' sound at the human male. "And no, we're not splitting up. Nemo fell and we don't know how. We don't know enough about these tests. The old man was a Jedi and he was killed. He was a man who used his mind not brawn. I've got a gut feeling it's going to take a bit of both to beat this. Revan and Malak did it together. So are we. Anyone arguing about what's already been decided, walks out the same door Mission and Big Z just did."

Turning around Skye Ravensong- reborn Jedi padawan, once Dark Lord of the Sith, once hero Knight of the Republic, marched with purpose into a chamber to face a test she had once passed but had no memory of.

The air was thick and stale like the rest of the ruins. Motes of dust swirled around the companions ankles like little waves in a tidal pool. Again there was movement from the shadows as there had been when the companions first entered the ruins. Two now familiar looking guardian droids crawled into view. These however were not in the conversational mood like the Overseer. As soon as their seniors detected movement the ancient machines opened fire.

"Take cover!" Onasi bellowed as he ducked behind a steel girder and pulled out both pistols and fired at the droid's head but its shield deflected each blaster bullet.

"Go for the joints." Ravensong advised the others. She summoned the emerald lighting and sent a bolt into the core of the cylindrical chassis. Dozens of green electrical fingers surged around the droid, curling around the four spider legs. "Teethree hit those things with a sonic pulse."

The little astromech droid bleeped compliance, its little electrical charge wouldn't touch the ancient mechanoids, but a sonic blast would weaken them.

The droids moved fast, skittering across rubble completely stable despite the enormity of debris. Their weapons were unlike anything any of Ravensong's group had ever faced. Their lasers were coupled with a cryogenic blast. It not only froze a combatant in place but also cooked them from within like a microwave. Such a beam from the second droid swirled on Onasi who ignored the Jedi's advice. The ray hit his chest and sent the Republic officer flying head over heels like a tumbleweed. He smacked into the far wall- metal clanged against metal, his body encased in frozen foam.

Skye struck the second with a bolt of lighting calling its attention to her. It opened fire but she rolled into a ball and somersaulted out of range. Its beam hit the first droid, freezing it in place. Bastila took the open opportunity of the sudden crowd control and distraction by bringing the duel golden lightsaber over her head and swung at the active droid's legs causing the thing to topple. A second blow took off the conical head.

Both Jedi smiled. Without communicating even through the bond they worked in utter and complete harmony.

Teethree ignored the battle and rolled over to Carth. The little droid lowered his sonic emitter towards the cocooned human and blasted. The sealant covering the body shattered freeing the officer within. His armour saved his life as did the little droid which was currently bleeping and hooting what sounded like a chastisement for ignoring the master's commands.

Canderous levelled his heavy blaster not at the central core of the droid as Onasi had but at its neck-joint. The head popped right off. The droid spun around in circles for a moment before recovering. Before it did completely, a black saber was thrust through its chassis from behind impaling it.

"Nice touch Whelp." Canderous complemented.

"Not bad yourself, Grandpa Candy." Skye turned off her saber before she saluted the man in a playful manner.

"Don't you even start!" growled the Mandalorian. "I'm going to take that little shit urchin across my knee for giving that up."

Skye just chuckled. She cut a glance to Carth who was now walking to them looking a little chagrined for once more ignoring Ravensong's orders.

"Nice of you to join us Republic," jibbed the older male. "Don't worry your weak orange ass; the real warriors met the little challenge while you were taking a nap."

"I fear that was just the warm-up." Bastila intervened just as Onasi opened his mouth to protest. "That was merely the test of strength, we must now see to the test of the mind."

Skye looked to the 50,000 year old computer terminal across the room. "Hopefully they are still functioning."

"Whatta ya mean? They worked for Revan didn't they?" Ordo asked.

"Yes and if she didn't want anyone following her or discovering the secrets of the Star Forge," Ravensong answered "she could have sabotaged the console in any manner of ways. I would have."

Bastila shot the other Jedi a look. "I suppose that is possible," she muttered. "Perhaps that is what truly killed Nemo."

"Time to find out." Skye commented approaching the semi-circular computer terminal. The keys didn't look familiar to at all. There was a small fraction in the former Dark Lord that she might have recalled seeing it and knowing what to do. If she spoke to it, or touched it would the computer recognize her? And yet the Overseer responded to her but didn't seem to know her as Revan.

_Unless I had something to do with that after I got what I wanted? _The Nagai mused, which was entirely possible. The other possibility was that Revan ghosted it meaning she didn't want to draw attention or allow anyone to know she had been there so left as little trace as possible.

Taking the proactive approach Skye simply spoke to the terminal but nothing happened, but at least it was functioning.

"Maybe it doesn't have the same adaptive programming the Overseer does," Bastila said.

"Maybe. Or maybe it has to learn our dialect." Skye nodded. The next time she spoke to the computer it was using the ancient Selkath dialect then switched to Galactic Basic. That actually got a response. A small port opened on the side of the computer which accepted Ravensong's datapad.

"What's it asking?"

"Something rather elementary." Skye frowned as the simplicity of the computers inquiry. "It wants to know the three-death giving seed world types." Skye typed in 'barren', 'desert' and 'volcanic'.

"I would surmise that the east chamber's computer will wish to know the three life-giving worlds: oceanic, arboreal, grassland." Bastila added.

"Why simple questions like that? It doesn't make any kind of sense," Carth frowned, "that's supposed to be a test of the mind? Any elementary school kid can answer that."

"I think we'll find out more as we go." The former Dark Lord shrugged. "Somehow it will tie in with the Star Forge."

The east chamber did indeed hold the questions Bastila had said it would. It held two guardian droids as well, though this time Onasi listened to the orders given to him by the Jedi.

KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~

Upon leaving the last room, the Overseer approached the companions. Once more it addressed them in ancient Selkath which of course only the Jedi understood. "You have proven yourself worthy. The sealed doors are now open. If you wish to learn the secrets of the Star Forge you must pass through the doors beyond."

"We've come this far. Let us see what secrets are buried here." Skye said leading the other three to the far chamber.

Upon entering, a two meter tall portly obelisk, hummed and clanked as it came alive. Obviously it was activated by the close proximity of organics. The sides of the obelisk opened not unlike an orange that had been sliced open. The room flared briefly with a dozen different strobing lights before settling on a single holographic configuration of the galaxy. It was in a few words, breathtakingly beautiful.

"This must be what Revan and Malak found when they entered this temple," Bastila said starring at the orbiting map. One could lose hours just staring at it. The humans voice grew softer almost regretful as she shifted her gaze from the map to the woman standing next to her. "This is must be where their journey down the Dark Side began."

"What is this?" Skye asked, the question was more to herself but Basilia took it upon herself to answer.

"This is a map. Some sort of intergalactic navigational chart. Revan and Malak must have used this to lead them to the Star forge. We can use this map to follow their path and find the Star Forge ourselves. But we must be wary," she cautioned, "they may have laid traps or concealed what they found."

"So what is the Star Forge exactly?" Canderous murmured watching the map slowly turn.

"I don't know. But Revan and Malak were very interested in finding it. It must be a tool of some kind or maybe a weapon. Perhaps the Council can tell us more, but I think this map might be the key in finding the Star Forge what ever it is." Bastila moved to stand within the projection of the map. "See this world here? This looks like Korriban, a Sith world. And if that is Korriban then this is Kashyyyk." She pointed to another cluster of starts and a world highlighted within the system. Then she pointed to another. "And Tatooine. And here's Manaan. There are pieces missing. Incomplete hyper-space coordinates, corrupted data. And there doesn't seem to be anything indicating where the star Forge itself might be."

"Well perhaps we'll find out more if we go to these worlds too. Look it goes back to those simple queries the computers were asking. Dantooine is the grassland, Kashyyyk is the arboreal and Manaan is oceanic. The desert world is Tatooine, Korriban is barren and the volcanic... is a world we have to find. That's why the computers asked those questions."

"I was thinking that too. This map can't take us to the Star Forge, but I now that Revan and Malak visited Korriban at least once. Perhaps they discovered something more there. They may have sound something on each of the other worlds that completed this map. Maybe if we can find all the pieces it will lead us to the Star Forge and some way to destroy it."

"That sounds like quite the supposition." Carth piped up. Ever since he lost face he had become even more embittered. "What if you're wrong?"

Bastila pinned the reluctant male with a look of thin tolerance. "What if I'm right? We can't ignore this. Finding the Star Forge might very well be the key in defeating the Sith. We must inform the Council of what we've discovered. They must decide our best course of action. But I suspect our task has only just begun."

"I think you're right. I and if we faced a trial here to prove worthy, we'll be facing more on each of these worlds." Skye said. "Teethree make sure you get a full recoding of this and send it the _Hawk's_ nav-computer."

The little droid bleeped an affirmative.

As they were walking back out of the temple the raven haired woman watched her fellow Jedi become deeper and deeper lost in her own thoughts. She turned to the men-folk. "You two go ahead. Bastila and I'll catch up. Oh and take Teethree with you."

"Leastwise it 'aint a dead body." Canderous said. "Hey Republic, you're riding bitch."

"Get on the back of the swoop bike with you? I don't think so." Carth looked as if he rather eat kath hound vomit than trust his life to a Mandalorian.

"Then walk," Ordo growled not comfortable with the idea of Onasi riding with him either.

"Both of you can walk if you don't get a move on." Skye ordered. "Now get."

The command was not disobeyed a second time. They men strapped Teethree on the back of the second swoop bike then reluctantly climbed aboard one after the other and took off at speed.

Now alone, Skye turned to her bond-mate and said. "Something bothering you, babe?"

"Hum? No not bothering me exactly," the younger woman shook her head.

"Well clearly something is on your mind, and I get the feeling it isn't about the Star Forge thing that's troubling you."

"How did you know?"

"Well your face is all scrunched up like a kinrath pup." Skye smirked teasingly.

"An amusing description but we both know that is hardly the truth. We both know the real reason you have some idea of how I am thinking. There is a bond between us. I do not dispute that I can feel it as I'm sure you can."

_This again? _Skye tried to remain open minded. She knew it wasn't easy for Bastila to be bonded to a former lover come enemy... and pretend Skye was a stranger. In a certain light that was most definitely true. Skye Ravensong was a stranger wearing a familiar face.

"My mind lingers about what the Jedi Council said about the two of us. The nature of that bond and the affects on our mission remains in question." Bastila continued.

Skye didn't think she liked where this conversation was heading. "Doesn't the bond mean my presence is necessary?"

"Necessary perhaps but there is no guarantee of our success," there was less shadow and more chill to the words now being spoken by the other Jedi. "I admit I am a little concerned of how a bond could be formed in the first place."

Skye remained mute.

Bastila continued to speak, at times it was as if she was unable to meet the older woman's' blue eyes. "Our connection allows us to see glimpses into each other's minds. We can feel some of what the other feels. And what I feel in you troubles me. A padawan must receive considerable training both to control their emotions and darker impulses. Often it takes years before using the Force can be considered safe. The fact that you are so strong in the force and had such relatively little training could have terrible consequences. For you and everyone around you."

Skye shrugged deciding to go for a more levity. "Well you can warn me before I do something bad like blinking once for Dark Side twice for Light."

"This is not a joke," scowled the human. "The choices you make could affect both our destinies, not to mention the fate of the Republic and the entire galaxy. There is much at stake," her voice once more became a whisper; a shadow of words. "Thankfully you extended a degree of compassion and self control up to this point, but I sincerely hope you can maintain those traits in the future. We must always resist the influence of the Dark Side. It is everything we are fighting against, this is doubly important for you... with your natural affinity with the Force."

"Right... right... right..." Skye nodded. "Something has you really spooked Bas. Ever since we came out of that temple you've been looking at me to see if I've gone all veiny and yellow-eyed. Of course that statement is a bit unfair to those races like the Cathar who have naturally golden eyes. Why are you getting so upset?"

"I am sorry if I came across as harsh," Bastila quickly covered the near slip. "But I am concerned for you, for our mission and for myself as well. Our destinies are intertwined. Everything one of us does will have consequences for the other. Any reckless behaviour on your part is likely to affect me as well."

"Oh so _now_ I'm the dangerous one. What about you Princess? What about crap you do, it will affect me too. You're the one that got herself captured without so much as a fight and her lightsaber snatched away by a bunch of lowlife spice-sniffing goons. Talk about reckless. Or do you think yourself too pristine, too good... that you won't frack my life up. From where I'm standing you pretty much already did that. Or is there something you're not telling me? You think because I'm a Nagai that I'll do what Revan did and become the next Dark Lord? This works both ways doesn't it?"

"Skye I... I never meant to imply that I am infallible. Or that I am above temptations from the Dark Side. Or that..."

"You're better than anyone else because you killed but didn't kill the great dark scourge of the galaxy?" seethed Ravensong.

"No! I don't believe that I'm better. I don't want to fight with you, Skye." Bastila shook as she reached out with her hand and touched the taller Jedi on her arm. "It's... only the sheer power of your control over the Force, its strength is almost overwhelming. Your affinity could be a gift or a curse. It makes me tremble to think of it."

"Oh," Skye moved in closer to the other woman, "I think we both know the reason I make you tremble," she touched the other woman's cheek and purred into a soft curved shell-like ear. "And the Force has nothing to do with it."

For a moment Bastila was grateful for the playful flirty side of Ravensong to rear its head. It gave her something to focus on. Battling her desire to kiss _Revan_... Skye, was growing more and more difficult to deny. The bond between them flashed with their equal want of each other. Swallowing, Bastila took a step back. "Must you be so persistent? You... you can be so impossible sometimes."

"It's a gift." Smirked the Nagai once more pleased to see pale cheeks flush with desire.

"Clearly you think so." Bastila attempted to create the best displeased scowl on her face which to Skye made her all the cuter. "I know very little about you," the human said trying another approach to change the subject.

There was a snort. _You know more about me than I do. _The sarcastic thought slithered into the former Dark Lord's heart.

"I'd like to ask you some questions, given our relationship." Bastila attempted.

"Our relationship, eh? Oh now see I like the sound of that." The Nagai flashed a playful flirtatious grin which caused Bastila to blush profusely.

"_That_ is not what I meant and you know it!" the indignant Jedi Princes was back in full haughty mode to cover up her building attraction.

_Yep, you want to know if I remember Dark Lord Sith stuff. Okay Princess. Let's play._

"Fine I'll answer your questions, Princess."

Bastila said nothing about the mocking nickname. "Don't worry, these will be harmless. Nothing too intrusive. I saw your service records when you were first transferred to the Endar Spire but I know nothing beyond that."

Skye's eyes grew dark for the blatant lie.

"First, what kind of background do you have?" Bastila was definitely fishing now.

"No."

"No?" clearly this was not what Bastila was expecting. Her face did indeed scrunch up.

"No," another flat answer. "I'm not doing this. I will not answer questions you already know and read about, you want to know me then know _me_ Bas! I will not stand here and be judged by you, you have no right to do that." Skye shook her dark locks.

"I..."

"No." Skye held up a finger. "No apologies, no excuses. You listen, I speak. You got spooked in that temple, you're spooked about the Star Forge and more importantly you're spooked I'll turn into the next Dark Lord of the Sith. Okay then let us play a game then shall we?

"Let's just say for grins that Revan, the woman you are so very famed to have killed, was standing _right here right now_ in front of you. What do you think she'd say to you knowing the truth? Knowing that your fame for her death was a lie perpetuated by the Council?"

Bastila paled. Skye felt the other Jedi's mind attempt to slip into hers but she forced her out. _'None of that.'_ She sent telepathically. "You figure out the answer for yourself, Princes. You don't get to go traipsing through my mind to see what I think the answer might be. No Jedi mind games, I think I've had quite enough of that."

Bastila was stuck dumb.

"Get on the bike. We have to catch up to the guys and let the Council know what we found in the ruins."

Silently Bastila obeyed. Her hands went around Skye's waist and she leaned forward on the finely toned muscles of the other woman's back. They were half way across the plains when the Nagai heard two words.

"I'm sorry."


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

"You've returned young padawan, have you discovered what it was that Revan and Malak sought in those ruins?" Asked the eldest of the Jedi Councillors as soon as Skye and Bastila entered into the Council chambers.

Seated around him in a semicircle were the remaining Council members some of whom were represented by holographic display. Again it was the same two females: one Human the other Echani and the two Human males.

"We found an incomplete Star Map that will eventually lead to something called a Star Forge." Skye started.

"We also found Master Nemo; unfortunately he was killed by the Trials of the Ruins." Bastila added.

"Yes two of your companions returned an hour before you did with his body. Thank you of the forethought of returning his body home." Master Zhar said. "He will have the proper rites."

The two young women only bowed but remained steadfastly silent on the topic. A Jedi funeral was a very quiet affair, few words were ever spoken and those generally by the Jedi's padawan or master if applicable. The spirit departed the body and rejoined the living Force- what remained was cremated, there was no cause to mourn or so conventional Jedi wisdom held.

It was not the death of this elderly Jedi that caused the frown to flit across the Grand Master's face however. His emerald skin wrinkled even further as his brow furrowed in thought. "This news of a Star Forge is disturbing. Action is requited. But we must not do so in haste. We must discuss recent events in light of this new information."

"We should consult the Jedi archives to see if there is any mention of the Star Forge and what it might do. We must learn why Revan and Malak sought it out," said Vrook to which Dorak and Atris nodded their consent.

*I will investigate the holocrons here on Coruscant.* Atris added. Her hologram flickered as if her transmission were coming from a great distance or an unreliable bandwidth connection. *If there is anything to be found, surley it will be here.*

*Perhaps we should seek out the Exile; she may know something of this Star Forge. She was after all intimately close friends with Revan before and after the fall to the Dark Side. Revan might have given her some information, spoken of it* Master Lonna Vash suggested.

*Certainly not! Even if it were possible to locate her she had nothing to offer. Let her remain in the void of Outer Rim.* Atris hissed. The look of disgust was instantly apparent on her projected face. It was- oddly enough- pointed to Skye, or might have been odd if the young Jedi didn't know who she truly was.

*Even if the Exile had information, it is a moot point. Without the Force it will be very difficult to find her. She is constantly moving about and changing her identity. She doesn't want to be found.* Master Kavar said.

Atris looked to the man that had once been the Exile's master. *Do not tell me you wasted resources tracking her?* Atris sneered.

*Perhaps we should turn our attention back to the issue at hand, which is not the Exile.* Zez-Kai Ell intervened.

There was a grateful nod from the Grand Master. "Skye, Bastila return to your quarters for the evening, we will summon you when we are done."

Both young Jedi bowed and obeyed their orders.

~KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~

"What was that?" Skye pointed with her thumb over her shoulder back towards the Council Chambers.

"I'm assuming you mean with Master Atris about the Exile."

"Pretty much yeah. For a moment I thought she was going to go all Wookiee bloodrage on us. Talk about anger management issues. I mean she really fell off her rocker when Vash suggested seeking out Miss Exile, what's with that?"

Bastila looked down at the floor before she spoke. "Atris and the Exile had a close friendship."

"Friendship?" A dark eyebrow rose. "Just how close are we talking about?"

Bastila gave her bondmate a suggestive look.

"Ah, _that_ kind of close friendship. Serious or a fling?"

"Close."

Skye frowned. "The Masters get all bent out of shape because Juhani and Belaya are together but Atris had a thing with the Exile and what... they got away with it?"

Bastila had no answer.

"Guess it's good to be on the Council. They get away with all kinds of things then frown on other Jedi when they do the same thing."

Bastila turned to the other woman, "they didn't get away with it necessarily. When the Grand Master discovered their secret he told them they had to stop. Atris stayed on Coruscant and the Exile was sent here. That is when her friendship with Revan started, and when Revan went to war, the Exile followed. I think Atris blamed Grand Maser Vandar for a long time; she definitely blames Revan for what happened to the Exile at Malachor Five."

"What just happened in there? What happened to the Exile and why doesn't anyone use her name?"

Once more Bastila looked away. "I'm sorry I don't have the answer for you, I know very little and what little I do know I can't speak of."

"More Jedi secrets?" Blue eyes narrowed as the Nagai's face was pulled into a frown.

"I'm sorry Skye."

"Yeah," the raven-haired Jedi shoved her hands into the arms of her robes and started for the enclave's inner garden chamber.

"Skye, we were told to go to our quarters." Bastila reached out to touch the Nagai's arm.

"You go, I've got other plans."

"Plans? What plans?"

A coy smile spread across Ravensong's face: "It's a secret."

She walked away.

"Skye wait..." Bastila called out but the other woman didn't respond as she continued on her path completely ignoring the Sentinel's calls. "Ugh never mind," she sighed and headed for her quarters. "I suppose it doesn't matter. You've always walked your own way, even..." Bastila sighed once more. _When you were Revan_.

Skye entered the sublevel gardens. She enjoyed the calm here, the restfulness, yes the gardens around the great oak tree had a calmness as well but too often that tranquillity was interrupted too often by a tantrum-throwing human male.

There was typically a small handful of Padawans in the little garden, generally no more than four or five. This evening there was only one other. Juhani. The young woman was sitting tailor-style, lost in meditation. A few rocks around her were floating in mid-air signifying how deep in she was.

Quietly the Nagai slipped into the garden proper, climbed to one of the upper mounds and sat down near to her Cathar counterpart and entered into her own meditative state. Soon she had her own pebbles and rocks spinning and thumbing about her, the only difference was that by the time she entered into the deep state, she too was floating in the air.

It had been some hours before both young Jedi came out of their meditations. If Juhani was taken by surprise that her solitude had a visitor she gave no such indication of such. Instead she greeted Skye with a shy if not awkward smile.

"It is good to see you again," the Cathar greeted, her voice a soft purr.

"You too."

Juhani carried the expression of one almost petrified of what her next actions- of words she had yet to speak- might have upon her. And yet it had to be done. "Padawan... Skye I feel I must apologize for the way I acted towards you before in the grove. It was wrong of me."

Skye understood that look of nervous apprehension and the resolve to see the issue settled, hell she felt it nearly every moment of the day wanting to ask Bastila why, why all the lies, why the massive cover-up. But in Juhani's case the matter was something all together different.

"You thought the Dark Side consumed you, it was nothing." Skye said disarmingly.

Juhani was not going to be so easily convinced. "No that is not true, it is everything. I am sorry for attacking you. I am sorry for thinking you would only try to kill me. I hope in helping you in your task that I may redeem myself in your eyes- and in my own."

"Don't worry about it Juhani." Skye tried again. It was so difficult to see a member of the proud Cathar being driven so low that her self-esteem was virtually non-existent.

"Thank you. It is most reassuring that you can forgive me even though I tried to take your life. I can only hope that in our time journeying together that I will succeed."

Skye smiled. "I assume that you mean you'll succeed in redemption and not in killing me."

"Oh, yes. My phrasing wasn't quiet right," the other woman looked a bit abashed. Ever since Skye had spared her life back in the grove, Juhani felt lost and became a stumbling Youngling around the beautiful and powerful Nagai.

"Or timing." Skye winked.

The Cathar lips curled into a smile. "Yes."

"So how did you become a Jedi?" the elder woman said taking a seat on one of the knolls near the Cathar woman. She patted the ground next to her indicating that Juhani should take a seat next to her. After a moment's hesitation, the graceful feline woman did just that.

"How I became a Jedi? I'm sure you would not find it interesting. Are sure you would like to hear?" she couldn't quite meet the piercing blue eyes watching her. Once more the feeling of being a Youngling with her first crush washed over her.

"I wouldn't have asked if I didn't want to know." Skye bumped her shoulder into Juhani's teasingly.

"It goes back a number of years. Back on my home world we did not see many Jedi very often, especially where I lived." Juhani pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around her calves.

"What is the Cathar home world like?" Ravensong leaned back on her elbows in a more relaxed repose.

"It was not the Cathar home world where I lived. My parents had long fled that place. And perhaps that is another story for another time. Rather it was a human hive world that I was raised, in the hind end of space. A pit of world to be sure, a place where Jedi rarely tread, but we had heard of them. Well everyone had, so it was not to be unexpected."

Skye smiled encouragingly which emboldened the younger Jedi. Her purring tone became filled with the awe and wonder. "Champions of truth; defenders of justice; heroes of the Republic. It was very easy for a child to be enthralled by their image and their mystique."

There was a bashful expression on the young woman's face; if not for her fur she would have been blushing. "Maybe I was one of those children."

"So how did you get invested into the Order?"

"When I saw a Jedi for the first time, they lived up to everything I imagined them to be. I was awed, and maybe a little enamoured..." Juhani's golden eyes carried a wistful expression as if recalling upon the memory of a loved one.

Skye couldn't help but grin. She had that feeling too... or did when she thought upon her Angel. That was until her hind-brain kicked in and reminded her that the crash in her fighter was in implanted memory created by the Masters to cover up the truth. Even if she wasn't a true scout as she once believed, the Nagai schooled her face into something more natural lest Juhani gain the wrong impression and think she disapproved of the young woman's infatuation.

"Enamoured?" her lips curled into a smile.

"They were quite striking. Especially with the tales told of their leader," Juhani wrapped her arms about her body and looked up to the to fountain. "From that moment on I knew that I would have to try to become a Jedi and lift myself out of the rut I've been living in for years. And make a real difference in the Jedi war," she giggled and turned her amber eyes to the beautiful woman standing next to her. "The foolish dilutions of a child. But this child made it happen!"

"As soon as I was able, I left my world and went in search of them. I found them and was accepted. I have been living my dream on Dantooine for several years before you came," the Cathar looked down at her golden furred bare feet.

"Although, I was perhaps not entirely ready for it. Maybe I'm not completely suited for the task otherwise I wouldn't have fallen. But thanks to you I have been redeemed. Perhaps I may yet live to see that dream of mine come true," she slowly lifted her head and starred at the Nagai with great fondness.

Skye reached out and touched the other Jedi. "Juhani you didn't fail. Not at all! Failure is unable to come back from Darkness. The Jedi Knight's test of the Spirit is just that- a test of your spirit. Sure you slipped into the Dark Side for a bit but you didn't fully give into it, or you wouldn't be here now."

"Look, the Masters of the Jedi and the Masters of the Sith have gotten it into their heads you have to be one or the other; Light or Dark. In my experience in life, things are filled with grey, nothing is that cut and dry. Maybe the true balance of the Force isn't dedication to one side of the Force or the other, but more like a fulcrum."

"You are talking about the Greys?" Juhani frowned. This concept went against everything she was taught. And yet it was so compelling.

"I think the first Jedi were more Grey than Dark or Light. Somewhere along the line philosophies changed, Codes evolved and paths were chosen. I think the first Jedi even had lovers, families, kids. I'm sure they had a Code, probably something a lot like our own, and probably a bit of the Sith's Code as well. Jedi and Sith experience a hubris because of the dominance of two Codes; a commitment a chosen path. But if you choose to preclude full dedication to one Path or the other and choose both, choose Grey and maybe that is closer to the ways of the first Jedi."

Juhani looked at the other older woman with curiosity and wonder. Her ideas... they were so alien and so familiar and so persuasive... her words made prefect sense.

"Maybe you shouldn't listen to me, Juhani," Skye put a hand on the Cathar's shoulder and gave a small smile as she rose up to her feet. "I've got some pretty funny ideas about the Force that isn't entirely consistent with what the Masters teach us. I've been digging around in the archives for anything and everything on the first Jedi. A lot of it was buried and I know there's more on Coruscant. I've been trying to understand what it is to be a Jedi... to be me."

She shook her head and started to walk towards the exit of the gardens. Then paused. "Wait a minute, a bit back- did you say, 'by journeying with me.' Do you mean to come with us on the Ebon Hawk?"

The Cathar nodded so vigorously her top-knot bobbed. "I spoke with the Masters about being able to join you, to aid you and they agreed," her excitement morphed radically into worry. "If you do not wish for me..."

"No, it's alright. I think it's great." Skye walked back towards the other Jedi and placed a hand on her shoulder once more. Somehow she had to get this woman's confidence back, to restore her sense of self. "In fact I know I'll need your help. It'll be my honour to have you on board."

Juhani grinned; her eyes retained some of their earlier spark of life.

~KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~

It wasn't until it was very late in the evening the next day when Skye and Bastila were recalled to the Council Chambers. This was one of the swiftest times the Council had deliberated. It was either good news and they found what was needed within the archives about the Star Forge, or it was bad news and they found nothing at all.

This time when the duo entered the full Council was not convened, it consisted of only the Dantooine four: Vandar, Zhar, Dorak and Vrook. As always it was the Grand Master who addressed the two.

"Padawan, you have done well in discovering the Star Map hidden within the ancient ruins, but there is more you must learn before you engage in battle against Malak and the Sith. We Jedi know that victory over the Sith will not come through martial might. The Council has a mission for you, Padawan."

"Master Atris and I have consulted our vast archives in effort to discover the nature of the Star Forge. But all my efforts have been in vain as has Master Atris'. Nether one of us found anything. No holocron makes mention of it." Dorak looked positively dejected in their combined failure.

"Still the Council is in agreement, the Star Forge must be found." Vrook stepped in. "Revan and Malak sought it out when they began their tragic fall. The Star Forge is surely a powerful tool of the Dark Side," he always seemed to be scowling when he spoke, especially when he was addressing the Nagai.

"The Star Map showed you four planets but it was incomplete. It did not show the location of the Star Forge itself. We believe there maybe similar Star Maps on these worlds."

"Pfft. Bastila and I already figured _that one_ out in the ruins. Doesn't take a Master to put that together," Skye interrupted almost belligerently. "Hell those bloody simple computer tests. Three death worlds, three life worlds pretty much gave the plot away. Well duh that's where the Builders hid way their fancy maps. And you have to survive those worlds to get to the maps. We do that and put the pieces together we'll get the coordinates of the last death world which will then lead us to the Star Forge. That's the real test to see if we are worthy of the Forge or not. It's a real no-brainer."

Instead of chastising the young Jedi for her interruption the Grand Mastered merely nodded. "Yes each Star Map is a piece of a large puzzle. As Dantooine is one of the 'life worlds' you have two more to reach: Kashyyyk, and Manaan, as well as the three 'death worlds': Tatooine and Korriban. You will travel to each planet and locate their maps."

_Didn't I just say that?_ Skye thought but didn't voice it as she was already testing the patience of the more indulgent of the Jedi Masters. "I'm ready to face the challenge, Master Vandar."

"This war has ravaged the numbers of the Jedi order, either by defection to Malak's cause or by Sith assassins," Vandar sounded, if anything, remorseful. "We realize the importance of this mission, yet if we sent an accompaniment of Jedi knights with you it would draw the full attention of Malak and the Sith which will lead us to failure."

_And me being Revan won't?_ Again Skye's mind interjected but the former Dark Lord was wise enough to stay her tongue. "Am I to undertake this task alone?"

"Secrecy is our best defence against the Sith. But it will be foolish to send you on this quest without someone to aid you, Padawan. Bastila will of course accompany you, for there is a powerful connection between you two. A connection that might be the key to the mysteries of Revan."

_Indeed. She very much is the key. _Skye agreed but for different reasons if not different motivations.

"And Juhani has expressed a desire to travel with you. After long deliberation the Council has granted her request." Vandar said.

"Juhani nearly fell to the Dark Side. Perhaps her presence will serve as a reminder to you of the dangers of that path," warned Vrook in his usual condescending way.

_Well isn't that callow and shallow of you Master Vrook?_ Sneered the inner voice of Revan peeking out of the eyes of Ravensong.

"I know about Juhani, she and I already talked earlier but what of the others? I want them to join me as well."

"Even Commander Onasi?" a testing look was received from the Grand Master.

Skye shrugged. "Do I have another option?" There was some hope in the Nagai's voice that she was going to be allowed to leave the pathetic male behind. She absolutely detested Carth Onasi.

There was a slight shake to the aged green head.

"Ah damn. You know I could do without his constant whining tantrums all the time. But I suppose he'll be more of a fracking bother if left behind. I'll tell you this Master, if he whimpers just one more time I'll space his sorry ass. As a Padawan I automatically gain the rank of Commander that makes him and I equal in rank. And Bastila being a Knight is a General as is Juhani being that she passed her Knight trials. Onasi no longer has senior rank. This is a Jedi mission under Jedi orders. If he doesn't like it he doesn't get on the _Hawk_."

Vandar nodded. "A very sensible precaution, to draw the lines of command. Of which we firmly place you in, though only a Padawan you have more command experience which nether Bastila nor Juhani posses as of late."

"As for the others they proved invaluable allies on Taris." Skye said bluntly. "They have just as much at stake as we Jedi do, guess that includes the blow-hard just as much."

"Yes of course." Vandar nodded approvingly. "They each possess unique skills that you may find useful in your quest, even Commander Onasi. But remember secrecy and discretion are paramount for success. You will not be able to hide the fact you are a Jedi, nor should you. But the true nature of your mission must not reach Malak's ear."

"Better tell that to the Orange Coat, because he is anything but subtle," Skye glowered.

"A firm reminder is not unwarranted." Vandar conceded that much. Onasi was as loud as his jacket he constantly wore. "And a reminder for you young Padawan. You may return here at any time, Dantooine will be a sanctuary for you. A safe haven, here you can find supplies, advice and whatever aid you may require."

"When do we leave?" Skye wanted to know.

"You can leave whenever you wish. The sooner the better." Vrook made no attempt to disguise his revulsion for the young woman with that last sentence. "The longer you wait the stronger Malak becomes. But first a warning, Padawan! The lure for the Dark Side is difficult to resist. Especially for you! I fear this quest for the Star Forge will lead you down an all too familiar path."

All the Masters heads turned to him their eyes held scathing looks that shouted a collective. 'Shut up about that.'

Vandar lamely attempted to cover up his fellow Master's slip. "The fate of the galaxy is in your hands young Padawan, we pray you are up to the challenge. May the Force be with you."

~KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~

The rest of the day consisted of gathering the troops, as it were, and getting the necessary supplies on board the _Ebon Hawk_. Food, both MREs and the salted preserved kath hound meat harvested by Zaalbar and Canderous. Skye made sure they had re-breathers in all of their utility belts in prep for Manaan, as well as kits for exposure to extreme heat and dehydration was going to be a big issue, not one of them were accustomed to the harsh twin suns of Tatooine. Pale Nagai skin didn't do well against sun exposure, it too easily burned. Korriban was a desolate world as well: sun, dehydration, and possibly toxic flora or fauna. That needed to be accounted for as well.

Kashyyyk had its own dangers, its flora and fauna wasn't exactly visitor friendly either and the indigenous populous wasn't fond of outsiders. Then again why would they be? The Wookiees were often hunted down as slave labour, sometimes for the barbarous practise for their pelts. Fortunately for Skye and Bastila they had a resident expert on the place.

The only planet left was the unknown one, and the only thing they did know about it was that it volcanic. Volcanic regions tended to have lush jungle environments when they weren't besieged by eruptions, lava, raining volcanic ash, noxious gas and magma. There was also no guarantee the planet itself wasn't toxic to oxygen-nitrogen breathers. Precautions would need to be taken, environmental suits were a no-brainer so was extensive antitoxin kits and med-kits. Anything else that might be needed or forgotten could be picked-up along the way.

They only had the two swoop bikes in the garage, which meant if the whole squad or even more than four of them went out they'd have to pick up alternative transport. It would be ludicrous to track across the Dune Sea or travel across the wastes of Korriban on foot- or swim to the bottom of the depths of Manaan without a submersible or at least a diver propulsion system.

Fortunately the Masters saw fit to give all three Jedi credit chits with hefty sums money to cover unexpected costs. What the credit chits couldn't cover they could make-up at the pazzak tables if it came to that. Besides you always got the best information at the scummier-bars and pazzak tables. When the former Dark Lord read the textbook '_The Jedi Path'_ and that a Jedi avoids taverns, cantinas and spice dens as they were pits of iniquity, she laughed heartily. How else were you supposed to get the down and dirty intel on what's going on unless you visited these places? The author of the chapter: "A Recruiter named Morrit Ch'gally" was a bloody up-tight idiot who probably never stuck his head out of the academy.

Skye adjusted the strap of her backpack on her shoulder a second time it was the last of her personal gear to be stowed on her ship. As she made her way to meet up with the rest of her team, the former Dark Lord wondered how many other instructors rarely stuck their heads out of the academy but gave idiotic advice.

"Padawan, a word if I may?" a male voice speaking in Hutteese called out to her.

Turning towards the speaker Skye almost laughed at the open joke about ineffectual instructors and isolation as she recognized a male Twi'lek He was the knight that got it into his thick skull that Bastila had saved Skye on Taris instead of the other way around. Deesra Luur Jada grated on her nearly as much as Carth did.

But for different reasons.

The man never shut up.

Skye reluctantly walked up to the emerald skinned Twi'lek. "There are many rumours about your most recent meeting with the Jedi Council. There is talk about your being sent on a mission to help us against Malak and the Sith."

Alarm bells started to ring in the Nagai's mind. She didn't much care for this guy when she first arrived and she cared even less now. She started to lower her bag to the ground, her feet shifting ever so slightly should it be necessary to go for her weapon. People who start conversations like that are either tabloid reporters, bumbling Republic bridge officers pretending to be scouts or Sith agents.

"I do not think the Council would want me to talk about such sensitive topics." Ravensong moved closer to the male, her voice a low hiss. "And you should know better then to bring it up in such a public place," the word sleemo was on her lips but she kept that silent.

"Please understand I am not asking you for anything that would endanger the Order or the Republic," he put his hands up in a passive manner. He obviously noted her stance. She was mistaking him for agent of the Sith. "Whatever the task the Council has given you is for your ears only not mine."

"Got that right, Bub." Ravensong growled. "What do you want- and I warn you don't waste my time with trivial poodoo."

"I only wanted to wish you well."

Skye snorted contemptuously picked up her bag and started to walk away.

"And to warn you!" he called out. Knowing this might be perceived as a threat to the newest member of the Order, Deesra quickly clarified, "there are many evils out there and dangers."

"Well no shit!" Skye spun around on her heel. "Look Bub, I'm not some Youngling who needs her gods damned hand held just because I'm walking out the doors of the Enclave to go fly of into the Black. In case it escaped your notice old man I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself. Have for a long time now. I told you don't waste my time."

"I am not attempting to waist your time Padawan, you mistake the purpose of my words. The Sith are not the only minions of the dark side."

Her patience was waning very swiftly. "Yeah, I already _know_ that. Not all Dark Force users are Sith. Look do you have something meaningful to say to me or are you just pissing in the wind?"

"I do have something meaningful, Padawan, I need only a moment to explain."

She sighed heavily. "Out with it then."

"Master Dorak has positioned me here to succeed him as Chronicler in the Enclave. And my studies have come across many tales about creatures that are born out of the Dark Side, creatures of pure evil. The worst of these abominations are the Terentateks. It is a beast that feeds on the blood of those that are strong in the Force. But nothing could quench their ravenous hunger."

"What makes you think this is of any consequence to my mission? I'm not going on safari. There are a lot of big bad toothy hungry monstrous things out there that feed on sentients. Krayt dragons, sarlaccs, gundarks, rancors, giant space slugs that eat starships, lots of beasties out there that have no issue on munching on people for a late afternoon snack. You want to get to point here Deesra? This is no classroom, I have a schedule to keep."

The Twi'lek nodded his head, the tips of his lekku twitching giving away his apprehension of pushing Ravensong too far. He knew he had irritated her when she first arrived and he had started today's conversation completely off on the wrong foot. She was leery of him now, watchful, perhaps wondering if he was an agent of the Sith.

"The Terentatek is a predator and we Jedi are its prey. They are unlike any creature you have ever seen. Yes, the others you named are true horrors and dangerous but not more so then the abominations for they are resistant to the Force. There are some the legends that they were created by the ancient Sith and spread through the galaxy to destroy the Jedi. Fortunately, the Terentateks are quite rare and they only inhabited caves and tombs strong with the Dark Side of the Force. They have not been seen for nearly forty years. And this is not the first time the Terentateks have vanished for periods of time. They can lay dormant for years only to rise up to hunt once more when the Dark Side waxes full.

"After Revan's fall and Malak's rise as the new Dark Lord I fear the Terentateks have woken from their dormant state once again. And I would not be so surprised if the Sith have begun to harvest them for deployment. The last time such a thing occurred the Council created the Great Hunt to exterminate them."

Skye knew a little of the Great Hunt, she came across a couple of mentions in the archives during her hunt to find anything out about the ancient Jedi—the first Jedi. "Yes but it failed didn't it." It wasn't exactly a question but Deesra seemed to assume it was.

"Correct. The Great Hunt was organized shortly after the defeat of Exar Kun who had created the monstrosities. The hunts were eventually abandoned by the Jedi Order because it was considered too dangerous, but three Jedi- Sheala Nuur, Duron Qel-Droma and Gunn Han Saresh were sent to finish off the hunt because the three had a powerful Force-Bond, and each of them were devoted to the Light. Which was why the Jedi Council thought they would be powerful to resist the Dark power of Korriban and strong enough to defeat the Terentateks.

"However they were not successful, their exact fate is unknown as no word ever came back for Korriban but it is presumed they fell in battle. As the Council deemed any further investigation too dangerous- no search followed."

"And you're telling me all of this just to warn me not to go around poking sleeping monsters immune to the Force and who love to gobble up Jedi?" Skye rose her eyebrow.

"I believe the Terentatek have awakened once more; I wished only to warn you."

"Yeah I got that. I'll keep my eyes peeled for nasty Jedi eating monsters in the deep dark pits. Go back to teaching the Younglings Deesra, because you have no talent in talking to adults. Oh and one more thing, the whole creepy lingering-by-doorways habit you have… Not. A. Good. Idea. People might think you're some sorta weird-ass stalker or sexual predator and not a Jedi Knight. Might want to check into that. Just a thought." The Nagai headed back to the gangplank of the _Ebon Hawk _grumbling about babbling twits.

Skye entered the starboard side quarters and threw her backpack onto to one of the bunks closest to the hatch. Being fourteen no doubt there was enough kid still left in Mission for her to call dibs on one of the top bunks leaving Bastila and Juhani to battle out who got which of the two remaining beds.

"Hey it's going to be good to be on the _Hawk _again!" Mission's exuberant voice bubbled over causing the frowning Dark Lord to smile. "I can't wait to see these other worlds," the kid scrunched up her face. "Well maybe not Tatooine. Don't know if I'm going to like a world with two suns..."

Skye chuckled, "yeah me neither," she showed the pallor of her arm, as Nagain were almost albaster skinned thus easily sunburrned. "Speaking of Tatooine. I thought maybe we should talk about your brother."

"Ah come on Skye don't tell me you believe Lena's lies! Griff might be working as a miner on Tatooine, but the rest of her story is bantha poodoo. You can't trust someone like her."

The Jedi remained mute, she only watched as the teenager sat on the same bunk Skye had tossed her backpack onto. She held her hands between her knees and hung her head a little. Her voice took on the notes of some who doesn't want to admit the bad in a loved one despite the fact that they know the truth.

"At least he's free of her clutches. I'd like to speak to the Czerka Corp. Rep on Tatooine if we have time. Maybe we can arrange to see my brother again," there was hope in her blue eyes. "If we have time."

Skye took pity on the kid, sat next to her and placed her hand on the middle of her back as might a parent. "We'll make the time, Kiddo. We'll find your brother Mission. I promise you."

The teen brightened up trusting Skye's word unconditionally. "I just hope he's not in any kind of trouble when we do," shame was ever-present. "As for his problems, there might be something to what Lena said..." she sighed as she didn't want to lie to Skye, not because the Nagai was a Jedi, but because other than Big Z the Nagai was one of her only true friends. A sister like she never had before. "He's... a little irresponsible. Always blaming others for some of the trouble he gets into. He's- what's that word when you do things spur-of-the-moment thingy and you don't think about it?"

"Impetuous?" Skye offered.

"Yeah that. He gets ideas but he doesn't have a solid plan about it. It's like he watches too many vids with the montage of things coming together suddenly for the underdogs and he thinks that's how real life works. Only it doesn't and he lost without the script- you know what I mean?"

Skye nodded. "So now you believe Lena's story?"

"NO! Of course not!" Missions head shot up, but her face was as if she had just bit into mouldy sandwich and washed it down with sour milk. "Not really. But what if it was his idea to leave me behind?" Her eyes implored Skye to tell her something, anything else then what she was thinking. "I'm not saying Griff would just abandon me. But... but... maybe he did want to leave me behind. Just _temporarily,_ you know? He might have done that," the girl was definitely trying to convince herself it was true. "...if he planned on coming back latter. But things usually don't work out for Griff the way he plans them you know, and that's when he'd get into trouble. He was always borrowing money he could never pay back. He might have been trying to skip out on his debts when he left Taris. He would have to leave his little sister behind so it looked like he was coming back."

"So he sacrificed you to save his own hide." Skye said coolly.

"Yeah!" Mission jumped up and nodded vigorously, frowned then shook her head just as energetically. "Well no, not exactly. Look all I'm trying to say is the more I think back the more I might be idolizing my brother a bit. Not seeing all his faults," she plopped back down beside the Jedi. "I still want to find him, I need to see him again. It's just that I'm not sure how I will react when I do."

Skye never had family- hell she was still trying to figure out how to talk to Bastila about her knowing she was Revan. Trying to fight one of Deesra's big bad Terentateks seemed infinitely easier than trying to console an angsty teenager. "You'll know what to do when you see him again, Mission." Skye said attempting to sound wise, sagely and all-big sisterly.

"Maybe... we'll see. I don't, I don't want to judge him yet. Maybe Lena was wrong. Or maybe, maybe she wasn't," tears fell from the girl's eyes which she definitely ignored. "All I know is that I want to speak to Griff myself."

"We'll check into it, Mission. I want to talk to the Czerka Rep anyway, their mining operations, while digging around that planet, might have uncovered something that will lead us to the Star Map." Skye's soft expression became a little more stern. "Mission, about your brother, you can't talk to Griff about the Star Map. In fact you have to keep that close to the chest, understand?"

"Yeah, I know it's important to keep Map hush-hush don't worry I won't let it slip."

Skye rose and turned to the teen. "Good girl, I know I can rely on you, just like you can rely on me. We'll find your brother."

The girl nodded and the energetic smile that she had when she first entered the quarters returned. "So which bunk you taking, Skye?"

"The one you're sitting on."

"Good because I call dibs on the one above yours."

"Figured you might have taken that one. Go on then it's yours, doubt it matters to either Bas or Juhani."

Mission nodded and tossed her own backpack up onto the bunk, it fell once but on the second go it landed in the middle of the bed. "Ya know, I was thinking, the guys side is going to be a bit rank."

Skye chuckled. "What, you don't think the men have good hygiene?"

"Come on you know Big Z- he doesn't brush. But it's not that. I mean sweaty crusty socks and gross underwear and niffy trousers thrown on the floor all the time; you forget I used to hang with the Beks. The guy's dorms were always so smelly. Plus if Gadon didn't lay down the law from time to time they'd sometimes get into it. And those guys were friends. Onasi and Grandpa Candy are not so friendly and well Big Z can get a bit territorial. You know Wookiees."

"Yeah that is going to be a bit of a rough-road. I'll lay the law down hard and fast. They frack up, they get off my ship. As for their side being rank, both men are military so they'll keep a tight rack and footlocker. Speaking of which... teens... have their own reputations too, you're going to have to keep a tight rack as well."

"Hey don't worry about me, I can be tidy. It's not like I'll leave candy wrappers all over the place. I'm not a kid you know."

Skye flashed a lopsided grin. "I know. You don't take children on a very dangerous mission to battle the Sith." She clapped her hand on the young Twi'lek's shoulder. "Come, we have work to do. Last minute checks before we take off. I want you to check the cargo hold make sure everything is secure. If there is anything we forgot, make a note of it so we can pick it up now before we head out."

Mission raised two fingers to her brow, "I'm all over it."

Skye watched her go before she headed out into the CIC to watch as the rest of the team came on board; Onasi gave a slight bow of the head before he headed off to the bridge. Next came Canderous, T3-M4 and Zaalbar. Juhani and Bastila followed bringing up the rear.

"Canderous," Skye addressed the Mandalorian. "I want you to take over as Master-at-Arms. T3 and Zaalbar head to engineering. Mission will handle requisitions. Bastila, I know you were in command of the operations on the Endar Spire but here you're XO. Carth will act as our main helmsman. Juhani you're one hell of a warrior- your close-combat skills are unquestionable- but how best can we put your skills to use on a ship?"

"I am very good at collating data, I can sit as a comm-specialist if needs be," the Cathar answered. "Some of my abilities as a Jedi lay in healing; I also have practical skills as a medic."

"Excellent," the Nagai smirked. "A scout's best friend is a good comm-specialist."

To this the Cathar ginned. "Then I will do my best to serve."

"Of that I have no doubt. Okay. Let's get this bird in the air." Skye ordered. "We have a Star Forge to find."


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

As the crew were settling into various parts of the ship, Bastila and Carth went to the bridge. Juhani took to the comm/ops room with Mission. However, the kid had decided to catch some zees before they touched down. Canderous was in the garage checking and rechecking the armaments insuring each were in top condition and upgraded with mods that suited each member of Skye's companions that used firearms. He even checked the melee weapons all save of course the Jedi's lightsabers. Zaalbar was in turrets apparently he had become obsessed with insuring the turrets were perfectly calibrated. T3 was bleeping happily in Engineering.

Skye made her rounds checking up on all the companions. She paused when she saw the youngest of her fellow Jedi.

"Juhani, are you all right?" Skye attempted reach the self-conscious Jedi before her. "Are you all right?" she asked again not needing the Force to tell her the Cathar was uncomfortable and withdrawn. It had noting to do with the forthcoming mission of that the Nagai was certain. It was as if Juhani felt unworthy of being on the same ship let alone the on the same team as the other two Jedi.

Taken aback by the true concern in Skye's voice, in her heart Juhani felt for a moment she was almost in the company of her lover Belaya. Sweet Belaya who blamed herself for Juhani's fall. The Masters had discovered their love and became quite insistent that such bonds could not be held by a Jedi. It was then Juhani had decided if she could not have love, if the bloodlust and passions of the Cathar in her blood and could not be quieted she would not follow the stifling ways of the Jedi. She would be free of their hold so she might embrace love as she willed. Power as she willed. Belaya, sweet Belaya said it was for love she had to free Juhani of their relationship though she did so under a broken heart. She had also told Juhani that she could not compete against a ghost. So it was they parted ways with broke hearts but not in bitterness.

Juhani was adamant love was not folly of the Dark Side nor did it lead to it. Keeping love silent thus gaining the disapproval and harsh reprisal of the Council did so. Skye… Skye was so like her phantom love, Juhani wasn't so sure they were not of the same blood.

"Juhani?" Skye touched the younger woman's cheek. "Are you all right?" she repeated the question.

"I… I thank you for your concern, Skye. But I am still shaken from all that happened."

"I get that. You've been though a hell of a lot. You can't be expected to processes it all that quickly, you're not a droid. Perhaps you just need more time. Trust me, I understand about being shaken."

"I think that is why the Council agreed to send me with you Skye. They think perhaps that in your company I will be able to forgive myself. To move on from it."

"Their actions are two fold then. Tell you what, if I see you slipping back I'll intervene." There was a certain levity to the older Jedi's voice that brought a smile to the Cathar's lips.

Relieved she didn't get a lecture that Skye didn't have time to watch out for her as she would have with Bastila, Juhani at last allowed a measure of relaxation to creep up on her. "I thank you for your concern and your acceptance Skye Ravensong. I will strive to prove I am worthy of your company and your trust."

"You don't have to prove anything, least of all to me. Look as far as I'm concerned that day on the grove was my test as well as yours. For you it was the test of the Spirit, for me it was a test of reason and understanding. Uncovering what lies beneath the facade. You weren't a Dark Jedi, you stumbled but didn't fall. And here's another thing: you don't have to keep thanking me Juhani," Skye chuckled. "Technically you and Bastila out rank me, you've both been Knighted and I'm still a Padawan."

"That might be true, but we both know who leads us on our journey. It is you Skye who is our leader and you come by such skills naturally. Your connection to the Force is as strong as Grand Master Vandar's and your charisma draws others to you like a winter moth to a heat lamp. Your voice has the power to call others to you. Why else does the Mandalorian still follow you when he is free to go his own path? Or Mission and Zalbaar… who follow you; devoted to you?"

Skye gave an uncomfortable smile. "Ah, well Zalbaar swore a life-debt to me. Mission goes where Zalbaar goes. Besides, I feel I need to protect the kid; she's had it rough and needs someone a little more… commutative and more feminine to look out for her. From her own words, 'Big Z isn't much of a talker; it's nice to talk to someone else. He's a great listener but doesn't say much except to complain he's hungry'."

Juhani laughed. "Ah yes… she is of the age where 'girl-talk' is important."

"Well if she wants to paint my nails odd colours and go shopping she picked the wrong girl-pal to hang around with. Though her idea of shopping she might need someone to bail her out of a cell."

"You play mother to her?"

Skye placed both hands on Juhani's shoulder and theatrically looked over the woman's shoulder one way then the other, then touched her finger to her nose conspiratorially. "Shh, lest she hear you. Now you know my evil plan to take under my wing street urchins and give them a better shot at life by playing mother and protector."

Juhani smiled softly as she laughed gently. She recalled another Jedi who had done the same for her and so much more. It was this woman that Juhani loved deeply had sworn her heart to, but now was not the time to dwell on such memories.

Juhani gave the Nagai a very curious look.

"What is it? Something on your mind?" Ravensong quirked an eyebrow at the sudden intense study of her face by the Cathar.

"Skye, do you have perhaps a sister in the Order?"

"Nope, I'm an only child born to my parents. Well that I know of. Why?"

"Because you look as she did. The Jedi who found me, saved me and encouraged me. Though she seems older in years than do you but that could be coming from the perspective memory of a child."

"I can only tell you I have no '_known_' siblings. Nagai tend to have a very healthy sexual apatite until they form their bonds. Who's to say that one of my parents didn't mother or father a child outside their bonding before they became lifemates? I guess Nagai Jedi are rare…" she didn't voice that she would no doubt be forever compared to the only other historical Nagai figure who just so happened to be a Dark Lord nor did she voice she was indeed that same Jedi.

There were a few Nagai Jedi yes, but not many, it was a card Skye knew she'd have to play if anyone started asking uncomfortable questions. "Nagai have very similar features. Black hair, grey or in rare instances blue eyes, and very pale skin. Humans have compared us to the vampiric-elves of their tales of horror and fantasy. Still we are often confused for anaemic human-half-breeds if we have a care to hide the pointed ears." Skye pushed her black hair past her the tapered points of her elongated ears.

"I have heard that Nagai take two mates."

Skye nodded. "It's not real tradition or anything. But yes occasionally we do, it goes way way back to when our numbers were so low due to the war with the Tof. Nowadays it doesn't matter the sex of the Trinity only that one is formed. There are trinities where all are female, or male. Some are of two females and a male or two males and one female. All three parents care for any offspring born to them not unlike the prides of tusked-panthers found on Nagi and Naboo. I take it I look like one of the Jedi you met?"

Juhani nodded. "Yes." It was strange. Skye and Revan were seen in the same light so much so they appeared to be one and the same. But just as Juhani tried to _see,_ it was if Skye refracted the image of the lost Dark Lord and the young woman was left seeing only Skye. The Cathar suspected the Force was at work but she did not understand why or how. But it was as if some outside presence insured that no such comparison would remain and the desire to compare the two would be driven from the mind.

"You do bare a striking resemblance to a Jedi, I have seen in holovids." Juhani said elusively. Now was not the time to tell Skye that it had been Revan who saved her, Revan who haunted Juhani's dreams. Revan was the ghost Belaya could not compete with. Revan who Juhani still loved even though her saviour had turned to the Dark Side, which was something Juhani never could make herself to believe. There had to be another reason for her beloved hero to become the Dark Lord, and the first in Republic history to take up the title Darth.

"Well that will happen." Skye shrugged as her mind slid back to the Masters; this was their handy work no doubt. But why? Did Juhani ever meet Revan face to face? Try as she might Skye couldn't remember, couldn't place ever meeting the Cathar before the day in the grove. There was no familiar presence, no half recalled dream-nothing of her true memoirs. Of Revan the Nagai new little to nothing. Of Skye Ravensong, why there was a whole tome of memoirs and history. But it was fiction. all of it.

"Say you want to give me a hand in the garage? I want to install some climate converters on the swoop bikes, so they don't overheat on Tatooine."

"I am sorry Skye but for that I'd be cack-handed. I don't think I'd even be able to hand you the correct tools," Juhani grinned and slowly emerged form her shell long enough to tease, "though I'm sure Mission would love to help her _hero_. Is it not a parental thing to share bonding-time?"

"Aw, well, yeah." Skye murmured. Mission wasn't the female she wanted to spend more time with. But if she pointed that out, Juhani would fall back into her introverted self once more and build an even higher wall erected out of bricks of shame and mortared together with the fear of disappointing someone she thought was her better. Going a different approach Ravensong said. "My door and ears are always open if you ever want to talk or whatever. Maybe we can make room in the cargo hold so we can do a bit of training between systems. I don't know about you but sometimes I get antsy being cooped up all the time."

"Aye, I do. Perhaps later we can go through our katas, the three of us."

Skye nodded and after a goodbye headed off to the garage leaving behind a far less sullen Cathar than she found.

~KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~

Skye sat upon one upon one of the wheeled chairs that she had taken from the comm-room so she might work on her swoop bike with out straining her knees for having to kneel all the time.

"Spit it out. I know you want to speak." Skye said without looking up to the new presence that had intruded upon her solace in the garage. "Something is stuck in your craw, what is it?"

_The bond, I shouldn't be surprised any more when she knows I'm troubled, yet I always am_. Bastila thought. What she said was, "Yes I want to speak to you about our mission. About what lies ahead for us. I believe fate or the Force is driving us into a confrontation with the Dark Lord." Bastila was clearly worried about this prospect. She made neither excuse nor attempt to hide this fear. "Skye, you must prepare yourself for when we face Malak. The confrontation will be difficult for you. I remember when I faced Revan…"

"Actually I think my confrontation will not be difficult for me, at least in the way you imply." Skye interrupted the other woman, if this was another 'fishing' expedition to find out what Skye knew of herself, the former Dark Lord would turn the tables. She was tired of this tiptoeing and the whole song and dance concerning the veiled truth. "Bastila, you knew both Revan and Malak. Revan was once your friend, in your own way you even loved her. She was a hero; a Jedi Knight who was admired by many. When she turned to the Dark Side it was if she turned from you, isn't that so? Turned from your friendship?"

Bastila looked away and down to the metal grating of the garage floor. Her auburn head nodded.

Skye wasn't finished: "Me? I have no connection to Malak other than he's the enemy. He is no more than a thick brute with a hell of a lot of power- dangerous to be sure- more so than Revan was because Revan used her head, had a plan. Malak is a bloody idiot who likes to stomp anything into space dust. I'm sure Revan's friendship with him was opportunistic, it had to be. Better to keep that rancor on a tight leash and send him to go stomp things than let him run rabid as he is now. He's going to ruin everything Revan was trying to save with her sacrifice."

Bastila starred. _Skye_ had never spoken so passionately about Revan before. Was it possible she was remembering just who she was? "What … what do you mean?"

"I've been thinking. Revan didn't fall. At least not like the Masters want us to believe. I looked at the Galaxy post Mandalorian War. The Republic is a stagnant beast, ailing and it _will_ crumble. In five years it will be a husk of its former glory. Worlds are dying, alliances tearing apart. I wouldn't be surprised in say five years Onderon will parley with the idea of seceding from the Republic. Other worlds are crumbling. Hell, Peragus II blew itself up for frack sake, now they are stuck mining an asteroid- a highly explosive asteroid belt. Revan saw this all.

"Look how her mind worked, you were close to her Bastila, how come you couldn't see what she saw? She didn't fall; she went willingly into the Dark to save the Republic. Her actions… cost worlds and lives yes, she even committed atrocities, but her actions would have stabilized the galaxy and the Republic. A unified government. Right now the Galactic Senate is broken and bickering over the scraps of the war with the Mandalorians and struggling to keep alive now in the war we face. Some of the greatest crimes imaginable have been committed in the name of the better good. And sometimes those people who committed those crimes hold the greatest wisdoms or so we like to think they do. I wonder if the Council had supported Revan that we would not now be in this civil war? The Republic might not be teetering on the brink of life and death and Revan would never have had to sacrifice herself to the Dark to save the Light."

Bastila fell to the floor of the bay, she had never thought of what had happened in quite the way Skye had pointed out. "You… you believe Revan sacrificed herself… why… why would you think that?"

"Well look what she was before. She was a hero, one who was willing to lay down her life for those who she didn't know so they would live. She defied the Order because going to war with the Mandalorians was the right course of action, at least in her eyes. In going she knew she would be exiled if she lived and returned: stripped of robes, title and lightsaber and quite possibly the Force.

"Yet she was willing to do so. Now think of what she did after? Do you think she was seduced by power? Was that her? You saw the visions; you saw her pacing before the door of the first Star Map. Malak was feeling the power of the Forge. Oh yes he questioned it too but he went not because of some noble intention but for lust of power. He didn't want to be left behind. No, Revan weighed what she believed needed to be done and the Council's teachings.

"I also think Revan thought about the Force in its totality. The Jedi and the Sith are extremes on the same coin. Sometimes I think of what I read about the Grey Jedi… like Master Kreia before she left for the Outer Rim and how they see the Force. I believe theirs is the truer path: not solely dedicated to one side or the other. They are not blinded by one set of beliefs or the other but follow all of it-the fullness of the Force. I think in the end this where Revan might have gone. She would have become a Grey. Of course we will never know now. The Council marks her as a traitor, a villain… but I don't think they looked close enough. Maybe it's because I'm a _fellow _Nagai, I can understand this path."

This is where those clouded fogged memories clashed with the too shinning to clear life of Skye. At the worrisome expression plastered on the human's face, Ravensong extrapolated further, tying somehow to get the other woman to _see_ her point of view if not _understand_ it.

"You see those who serve the Night Mother in the monastery are trained to be assassins, not for evil, not for the Dark Side, but in the same vein as the Republic Military. Nagai use stealth, and swiftness- not the brute force of military might to protect and serve the people of our planet and our colonies. Revan was raised by the Jedi but in her heart she was still Nagai. If judged by the ways of Light and Dark the Nagai are Grey. From all that I read and heard of, I believe that part was reasserting itself in Revan. It's something the Council and even Darth Malak did not understand or see.

"I also think that sometimes the Council's will is not always the way of the Jedi. Such questions don't lead to the Dark side, Bastila. So don't start thinking I've turned. But such questions must have answers, do they not? The teachings of the Jedi are ancient, but the will of the Council changes with each new member's viewpoint. We only have to look at the example of the Jedi Covenant to see that. One Guardian and what, four or five Councilors and they all slew their Padawans because of wrongly interpreted visions of a new Dark Lord rising. The Council was unwilling to hear Padawan Zayne Carrick's story and unyielding in their pursuit of him which in the end had cost countless lives. If the Council had not been so quick to judge Carrick and name him a traitor, Saul Karath would have heeded the boy about Serroco regarding the Mandalorians immolating the city."

Bastila stared at the other woman as she worked on the bike. The silence was unobtrusive as it settled around them for a moment. The only sound was the metal on metal tinkering of a mechanic busily at task. "Hey hand me that spanner." Skye pointed to the tool kit open by Bastila's side. The younger woman obliged, Skye took it without a sound then moved off the chair to a scoot under the bike to tinker with something Bastila could only hazard a lucky guess at.

"Many believed the Mandalorians were defeated at Malachor V." Skye continued with her previous conversation, as if no interruption had ever occurred. "The way I see it, the Mandalorians taught the Jedi much through battle. And so it was that Revan, Malak, and the Jedi that followed them discovered their true natures in the Mandalorian Crusade. The war's end was simply another beginning and what seemed a victory for the Republic was far from it. Revan knew this, she saw it and she knew the price she had to pay to save it was far more than she imagined and so she gave her soul to the Dark Side.

"I've studied all the documents the Archives have on the wars as well as other sources including Zayne Carrick's logs. I picked them up when we were on Taris from a peddler hawking relics of the Mandalorian Wars. I've always found the logs and diaries of warriors on both sides of conflicts to be insightful and interesting reading. Call it being a scout. Anyway, I strayed from my point I was trying to make."

"Which is what?" Asked Bastila, intrigued by what answer she would hear.

"The Council has great wisdom, Bastila, but isn't always correct or right in their course of actions. History isn't always the way we are told to believe it is. There are always other angles to look at it and understand it. Malak will not be a great enemy to me as he is to you. To me, he is nothing more than tyrannical rancor monster with a steal jaw and a powerful connection to the Force and a hell of a lot of firepower. But emotionally, he is nothing to me. I know this confrontation with him will be very difficult to you, just as killing Revan had to have been for you."

Bastila looked away. Her voice a small whisper: "I… I didn't kill Revan."

The former Dark Lord looked up form her work. Here now was her chance for them both to come clean. But she wanted- no needed- to hear what Bastila would say or if in fact admit anything.

"But that is what you are famous for." Skye pushed the trolley she was resting on out from under the bike. Her blue eyes stared into the grey of the human's.

"Like you said, history has many angles to look at it from." Bastila said in a voice that was both seemingly apologetic and nervously dismissive. It was a tone that said 'I don't want to talk about it.' "Our mission was to capture Revan if at all possible. It was Malak who turned on his own Master, firing upon Revan's bridge while we all were on it. It was his desire to kill us all in one master shot. Thankfully we narrowly escaped just before it exploded."

"So Malak did your work for you? True enough I suppose, it is the nature of the Sith to be traitorous." Skye said so nonchalantly that it was unnerving.

"I suppose so." Bastila dropped her eyes; the shame was apparently resurfacing as was a new emotion, something extremely uncomfortable. The bond flared between them. Pain. It was pain that rippled as an echo deep within the younger woman. "Not that the outcome of that battle was foreseeable… I never expected to be…" Bastila stopped before she could finish her thought. She was dangerously close to revealing forbidden knowledge to the woman before her. "As I said, we were there to capture Revan alive. No one deserves execution no matter their crime. You said it yourself- Revan and Malak were once great Jedi. Heroes in every sense of the word. Revan was-was both Councilor and Weaponmaster. A Jedi's Jedi more so than Malak. But they both demonstrated the danger of the Dark Side. "

Skye shot up taking hold of Bastila's arm. "Are you saying Revan still lives?" _Tell her you know gods damn it. You hinted enough already, out with it_. The inner voice of Revan asserted itself. _Enough games!_ Skye silenced the inner voice by sheer will of her own need to allow Bastila the time to admit the truth, to see if she was capable of it.

Bastila looked away unable to look into the blue eyes as she had been so in the past. "The Dark Lord lives not."

"That doesn't answer the question. You're deliberately hiding this and being very evasive. Why? I can take it from your mind." Blue eyes narrowed.

"Yes you can. Will you?" Bastila looked up tears now clouding her grey eyes.

Skye let go her hold, "you know something of Revan and the Council swore you to secrecy is that it?"

"Yes."

"If I know... this knowledge could put me in danger, the mission and you?"

"Yes to all."

"Then I will ask no more, of it." Skye smiled wiping the tears from Bastila's face. She grimaced as the actions caused the damp face to absorb some of the grease on Skye's hand to smudge an otherwise pristine face and then smirked at the novelty of the Princess being grimy like a pit monkey. "I trust you, Princess."

The strangest thing Skye's words were meant to sooth, yet Bastila reacted as if she had been backhanded. "I am sorry we… we really shouldn't be talking about this… the memory of my confrontation with Revan is… painful."

"You were in _love_ with her." Skye suddenly realized why Bastila was reacting so peculiarly.

Bastila didn't respond to deny or confirm the question. "Please Skye… can we not speak of it?" She was trembling.

Skye took her into her arms immediately. "Sorry Babe, I didn't mean to bring you unhappiness. So ah… how about a change of subject then? I'd like to know more about you. You got to read my files and service records, so how about it?" Skye smirked playfully as she imitated Bastila's refined accent. "You tell me for once about yourself, other than to say you're a Jedi."

The younger woman gently eased out of the warmth of the embrace. "Yes I suppose I can understand your curiosity given the bond that connects us. Very well I'll tell you about myself. And no I am not a Hutt in human disguise."

The sudden joke made Skye's eyes grow wide, as did her mouth. Laughter erupted from her so hard she snorted, causing Bastila to chuckle herself.

"I imagine you didn't think I had a sense of humor."

"Oh I knew you did, it was just underdeveloped," Skye snickered, "so how did you join the Jedi then?"

"I was found to be strong with the Force at a young age as most Padawans are. As a girl I was given to the Order to be trained." There was something of a distant pain reflected in the young woman's grey eyes, Skye was quick to perceive. Then it was gone. "When I joined the Order, I had left my family on Talravin, as all Padawans do. My family is still there the last time I heard. I've had little contact with them as it is discouraged." Once more regret filled her voice though it was so subtle that it was more of an echo of the past emotions then a true reflection. Even the words she spoke, 'as it is discouraged' were more of an echo of another's words and not Bastila's own.

"So it's true," Skye said, "the Jedi separate children from their families!"

"Relationships with family members are fraught with powerful emotions. Such extremes are to be avoided. Anger and hate are the worst but even love can lead to folly."

"I don't believe that for one moment, it's the inability to cope with strong emotions, being unprepared for it does, not the emotion itself. Suppression of one's emotions isn't healthy. Any psychiatrist will tell you that. Control them, yes suppress them- no. Big difference."

Bastila noted the disgust in her companion's voice. And truly if she were honest with herself, she didn't blame Skye for her reaction. Even as she tried to explain she couldn't siphon her own remorse from her voice. "Emotional entanglements can be departmental. They can impair rational thought. They can lead to outbursts of uncontrolled emotions. A Jedi _must_ be above such things. You saw how Juhani fell… she loved… loves Belaya and it led her down a dark path."

"You don't sound very convinced." Skye folded her arms over her chest, staring Bastila with an almost challenging gaze of defiance.

"It can be a hard lesson to learn. I was not on good terms with all my family. But I do remember missing my father terribly for a very long time."

"You and your father were close?" Skye's stance softened as did her voice. She sat down upon the saddle of the swoop bike content to listen.

Bastila smiled, her mind calling up the face of her father, and his smiling eyes. "Very close. I was only a little girl when I left my family, but I still remember him fondly. He was kind and gentle and doted on me."

Skye grinned, _Daddy's Little Princess_, popped into her head.

"My mother however was very different. I was not on good terms with my mother. I was only a little girl, but I was old enough to resent her and the way she treated my father." Bastila's voice was almost a growl. "She pushed my father into treasure hunting. I spent all my young life on ships traveling from one false lead to the next. She whittled away my father's entire fortune and I hated her for it! I think she was relieved to give me to the Jedi, but my father was brokenhearted as was I."

"You never tried to get in touch with your father again?"

Once more the echo of another's words laced Bastila's own. "A child is too young to understand the sacrifices they must make. It is better to have no contact with their families once they are removed. Once I was older I realized the wisdom in this policy. A Jedi must do what is needed! Personal desires notwithstanding, love can only obscure and confuse the matter."

"You sound very sad when you say that." Skye offered quietly.

"Even a Jedi can not always control the feelings of the heart." The younger woman found herself gazing into Skye's own eyes once more. The older woman thought perhaps she was trying to find the reflection of another within her gaze and did not see Skye at all.

She was looking for Revan.

"_We _must do our best to guard against it, no matter the cost." Unable to look at Skye any longer Bastila turned away from her, "but some sacrifices are harder than others. I… I… do not wish to discuses this any more. Skye, I… I would rather return to our mission. We'll be landing on Tatooine soon. We should probably check our gear."

"Already on it, I had Big Z double-check our supplies for a trek across the Dune Sea. You know, I hate sandy planets. Not to mention Nagai don't do well out in the sun, we get a little crispy."

Bastila was relived that Skye resorted to her typical levity to bolster the rather morose tone the garage had taken on in the past few moments. "I'm sure the medical bay has appropriate sun-blocking creams. If not, I'm sure a local merchant will have adequate stock."

"Sure hope so. Of course, the cowls on our robes will offer some protection for well us Jedi, but the others are going to be hurting. Do you think Wookiees pant?"

Bastila wasn't so sure question was offered as a joke or was Skye serious? Wookiees didn't wear clothing because there was no need- not with the dense fur coat.

"Zalbaar might be more protected than any of us. If you think of a bantha's shaggy coat, it puts it into perspective. Mission, having grown up in the Lower City, will have a more difficult time in the brightness of the desert, she isn't acclimated to it. She had to wear eye protection on Dantooine never mind Tatooine's twin suns."

Just as Bastila was to respond a high pitched cry carried throughout the ship

"Skye! Skye!" It was Mission. "Skye, please!"

Skye gave a look to the other woman before bolting down the corridor into the starboard side quarters. She pushed past Zaalbar who was trying to get into the quarters save for the teenager's outburst of: "I only want Skye!"

Mission was radiating absolute fear. She was weeping and holding her knees to her chest. As soon as the Jedi entered Mission reached out for her.

"I'm here."

"Oh Skye!" She fell into the other woman's arms, weeping all the harder.

Skye's Nagai senses being more acute than a human's, picked up the scent of blood.

Loitering just beyond the threshold most of the crew of the _Ebon Hawk_ had gathered.

"Bastila, get rid of them." Skye ordered. "Do it quickly, right now." Through the bond she whispered, '_She's going to be okay. Seriously she needs discretion right now, not an audience.' _

"Skye I'm dying!" Mission whimpered. "I woke up from a nap, and there was blood …" she leaned in closer to the Jedi. "There was blood in my… between… I'm bleeding between my nethers."

Skye bit her lower lip sighing. "Mission… you're not dying. It's natural. I'm taking an educated guessing that your brother never told you about the facts of life."

Through her tears Mission frowned. She sniffed. "What?"

"Procreation."

"You being about babies?" Mission snorted, "I'm not a kid! I know how babies are made. The man charges up a woman's loading ramp, seeds her with his life-goo and she gets heavy with a baby. That's what Gryph said."

Skye rubbed the back of her neck. "I wouldn't have put it so indelicately. But yeah, something like that. But there is a lot more. Didn't any of the female Hidden Beks talk to you? Zaerdra maybe?"

"Sorta, she said don't let a male stroke my lekkus until I wanted it. She said to not let them try to talk me into it, cuz it starts the fires and all they want is what's between my legs."

"Yeah again, that's about right, but she didn't talk to you about anything else?"

The teen shook her head.

"Blast. Okay. First let's get you cleaned up and change the bedding. I'll try to explain." Skye placed a hand upon the other woman's arm. "I promise you this; you're going to be okay. Really." The Jedi turned to her footlocker and retrieved the outer cloak of her robes that was on her bunk and handed it to the Twi'lek. "Cover yourself up with this."

"I'm not dying?" As she was putting on the cloak Mission looked to the wet splotch of blood on the bunk incredulously. Add the blood and the abdominal cramps she was feeling she sure felt as if she were dying.

"No. I promise. You might feel like it, but no you're not." Skye rubbed the girl's back. "Come on, I'll escort you to refresher."

Meekly Mission nodded.

'_Skye what has happened'_

'_We need to do some damage control with the others. Mission is fine. She just experienced her first menstruation. She freaked, because no one told her it would happen.' _

'_Blast!' _The more reserved Jedi cursed.

'_Exactly. You can imagine why she reacted as she did when she saw the blood_. _Carth was_ _married and I'm sure Canderous had his share of encounters with women; they can be handled, easily. Zalbaar… will be made to understand.'_

Juhani was waiting outside as well then noted the makeshift skirt around the teen's middle and deduced what happened. "I will get the necessary hygiene products from the sick-bay." She said softly. "No one told her?"

Skye shook her head.

"Mother indeed," she said so softly she knew only the Nagai's ears would pick it up. The comment brought a lopsided grin to Skye's lips and shrug.

"Guess so," she said just as softly.

The others watched as Mission was led to the refresher by their very protective leader. Once Mission was within and out of ear shot, Skye approached the rest of the crew. "Listen up and I'm not going to tell you twice. Don't make an issue out of this, don't talk about it and if one of you…" she looked to Carth pointedly, "makes one inappropriate teasing remark, I may forget for a moment I'm a Jedi and smack you upside the head so hard every man in creation will see stars. Mission is a fourteen year old, who's just hit aspects of puberty that _only_ young women go through. The only problem is she had no maternal figure to explain things. Don't make her feel embarrassed, shamed, belittled or condescended, she's already mortified. It's hard enough for her as it is without added crap from anyone. End of dissection."

"And may I remind you gentlemen," Bastila said fooling her arms and standing beside Skye as did Juhani, "there are four women on this vessel. And not one of us wants to hear male prattle or complains or a snide remark concerning the nature of our bodies. Understand?"

"I sure they do, men are not always idiots," Juhani backed up the others, "and I am certain they will not make the next few days uncomfortable for young Mission."

The men looked at one another and decided that pissing off any woman who wielded a lightsaber and the Force because of some joke about PMS was a very unwise move. At once three heads bobbed affirmative.

"Good boys." Skye smiled. "Now if you'd excuse me I have to go and explain something I never thought I would be."

"Oy..." Canderous piped up causing the three females to shift their attention, armed with glares ready to be released if they felt the need to put Ordo in his place. "They like protein about this time. Twi'lek woman that is."

Carth and Zaalbar looked at one another in astonishment them back to their fellow male. The women however softened their expressions to one of surprise that Ordo was conscientious enough to say anything.

"What? You forget Davik had a lot of slaves, all of 'em Twi'leks. About every three months those little honeys would want a lot of meat and they weren't so keen on company." The old Mandalorian trailed off. "Take it for what it's worth. I got no trouble with the little shit becoming full woman." He took out an old chewed up cigar butt form the breast pocket of his red tack vest and headed back to the garage. "Now that little drama is over, I'll finish up what you started Whelp. Gotta get those bikes ready for when we hit dirt."

After an hour or so passed Skye freed herself from a shaken young teenager who wanted nothing more than forget her earlier hysteria so much so she actually conned Juhani into playing a couple of hands of Pazzak. Ravensong opted out and headed back into the garage.

"She sorted?" Ordo said from under the second swoop bike the companions picked up on Dantooine.

"Thought you said you didn't care for the drama."

"I don't. Just don't want no liabilities lagging us on that fracken sand pit."

"Right." Skye nodded She wasn't going to mention Ordo's growing fondness for the spunky street urchin. "So Old Man, bet you got some good war stories. Why not spill one."

Canderous got up, wiped his greasy hands on a rag near the tool box and leaned against the saddle of the swoop bike he had been working on.

"You wanna hear tales of my exploits? The wars I've seen and fought. The enemies I seen die by my hands—ha—sure." He casually tossed the rag on top of the box, and took the cigar from his pocket and lit it up. "I'll humour you. You already know I'm from of the Mandalorian clan Ordo. I've been fighting across the galaxy for forty of your years. For my people it is the honour and glory of battle that rules us. It's through combat that we prove our worth, gain renown and make our fortunes."

"And now? After the war it can not be the same." Skye probed.

There was a heavy sigh of a man riddled with regret and remorse of days gone. "Times have changed now. The Mandalorian clans have been scattered across the Outer Rim. The Republic is in decline, and the Sith empire rises to take its place. The clans as they were have regressed but the galaxy still fears us." He puffed on the cigar allowing the smoke to circle around both their heads.

"HA! People think we war out of spite or bloodlust. They don't understand and fear that. We only wanted the challenge of the battle and glory from it. Win or lose. And we lost. But now I have no challenges, crushing Davik's enemies and the pathetic gangs of the lower city can not be considered the most glorious tasks. When I think of the battles I fought, the people I killed, the worlds I burned I weep for my past. We will never again speak of this." He snubbed out the cigar and stuffed it back into his pocket. "We've got work to do so let's get to it."

KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~

Okay canonically I know we never see Grandpa Candy smoke but he looks like a guy that should have a cigar a bit like Arny Schwarzenegger always seem to have one save for his old Conan / Terminator movies. It just fits.

Also in game I know Juhani sticks to that little closet which never made sense to me. She has no job on the ship and just stands there. Who just stands in a closet? (ironic when she 'comes out' of it if femRevan romances her) So I placed her somewhere else and gave her a job a bit like Sam Traynor on ME3.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

It wasn't going to be a good day by any measure of the word. Fleet Admiral Saul Karath was loath to play the role of messenger. The Dark Lord didn't take well to bad news and more often than not the barer of such news never walked away from delivering it. Perhaps with an ice-breaker... some good news might temper the Dark Lord's wrath.

He swallowed hard, squared his shoulders and walked up to the forefront of the Leviathan's bridge where his master stood gazing out at the great streaming void of hyperspace. "My Lord," Karath began, "the Star Forge is working at two hundred percent capacity. Far beyond our expectations."

"I am more interested in the young Jedi Bastila and her battle meditations. Have you learned how she escaped Taris?" Malak said succinctly without turning.

"She was aided by Carth Onasi a decorated war hero of the Republic and a legendary solider. During the Mandalorian wars he was awarded many times for his bravery," there was a bit of pride and nostalgia in the Admiral's voice for his former protégée.

"You know this man?" The Dark Lord had been swift to pick up on the inflections in Karath's voice.

"Yes Lord Malak, he served under me when I still followed the Republic. You could say I was his mentor."

"Interesting..." Malak murmured half-committedly. "How did you acquire this information, Admiral?"

This was the perfect opportunity, Malak had planted the prompts and seeds and for once Karath wasn't going to be the giver of ill-news. That lay on the poor sod that had come to him seeking an award for the intel he brought.

"There was an eye witness, Lord Malak."

Stepping forward with the arrogance of the reputation he had gained was Calo Nord. Wearing his- if not a bit frayed and singed- blue long coat, his white mushroom hat was equally battle-worn.

"A bounty hunter?" There was disdain in Malak's voice. "You allowed a bounty hunter on my ship?" The disdain turned to a growl.

"My Lord, Calo Nord was there when Bastila and her companions fled. Apparently they left him for dead."

"A Jedi and a war hero, it's a wonder you survived the encounter," sneered Malak striding past Karath- who he shoved aside.

"I am hard to kill Lord Malak," he said in his own pride.

"Calo has agreed to help us capture Bastila for a very hefty fee of course. But I assure you he is well worth the price. His reputation as a bounty hunter is well earned."

The diminutive bounty hunter seemed to smile at Karath's praise. He even seemed to stand a foot taller.

"Calo Nord. Yes I recall now. You're that cowardly little pimple that gives a count of three before you allow grenades to do your work for you."

The smile faded. His face contorted into a grimace. Calo's hand snapped up to his throat as he desperately tried to rip the collar off his coat free.

"I despise cowards like you, little pimple. Shall I count?"

Nord was gasping—clawing desperately at his throat, desperate for air. He fell to his knees, his face red from suffocation. "One. Bastila's companions are worth nothing to me Calo but I want the young Jedi taken alive if at all possible."

Nord was mere steps away from death. He fell to his knees, tears leaked from his eyes pooling in the underside of his goggles.

"Two. Life is mine to give or take. You live by my whim. You are _easy_ to kill Calo. Remember that." Malak loomed over the bounty hunter watching passively as the man was dying.

Nord was now prone on the floor gasping for air as would a floundering fish. The Dark Lord's boots were near Nord's face. It was tempting to just kick the man's face in but Malak refrained from giving in to temptations.

"Three. Whatever information you think you have I want; you are not getting paid for it. Do not think for one moment you can hold it hostage from me little pimple." Malak released his hold on the little man who rolled over on his back drawing in great welcoming gasps of coveted air.

He stepped on the man's neck. "Understand?"

Nord tried to swallow enough spit to form the words that became clogged in his throat. "Y...ye...yes."

Malak pushed a little harder, any further and he would crush the vertebrae in Nord's neck killing him.

"Yes Lord."

"My Lord there is something else you should hear." Karath interrupted. "May we have a private audience away form the ears of the common soldiers?" All of which were watching the scene play out while trying not to be seen watching.

"I trust you are not wasting my time Admiral Karath." Malak was never one for exhibiting patience even when he was a Jedi Knight.

"I promise you, you will be very interested in what Calo has to tell you about Bastila's other companions Lord Malak."

The boot was removed from the bounty hunter's throat. "Very well. And we will see if the information you have is worth the price of your continued existence." With that Malak strode past the small man down the long necked corridor of the bridge and disappeared into a port-side door.

Nord struggled to his feet but his strength and what dignity he had left was failing him. Karath watched passively offering no assistance. "You will do as bidden."

Nord should have known there'd be no apology for the treatment that befell him. He should never have expected to be praised for his initiative to seek out the Sith and give them a bountiful harvest of information concerning one particular companion of that Jedi bitch. Nord knew the Dark Lord could not be manoeuvred or manipulated as Kang had been but he overestimated his own value because of what he held. It had a been a mistake to try. Unsteady feet followed the wake of the Dread Lord. And he knew when he entered that he had to do more than bow for he also knows that the information he carries of which he thought to make him rich might very well end up getting him killed. But now he had no choice but to follow though. Lord Malak would surely know if he uttered a single falsehood.

Going down on one knee Nord bowed his head. "My Lord." He waited for the prompt to be allowed to continue to speak. He would not make the same mistake twice in treating Malak like Kang who had allowed him great latitude.

"So tell me of Bastila's companions."

Calo didn't raise his head. He didn't dare. "You know of Onasi but the other..." the once proud bounty hunter quivered, his fear stabbing his mind like shard of ice. "The woman is a Nagai who calls herself Skye Ravensong. In a handful of days she took the title of Arena Champion and she won the season opener swoop race in record timing. She is skilful. Jedi reflexes. My Lord, I recognised her. She had another name, another title. Darth Revan. Dark Lord of the Sith."

Malak whirled. "You should be more careful with your words, pimple."

"Master, it's true. Ravensong is Revan."

"Revan is dead!"

Nord didn't even see the Dark Lord move before he was upon him holding him aloft by the neck he had used the Force to choke.

"I..." cough..."Ha...haff...proof..."

Malak dropped the little bounty hunter. "Show me."

A hand trembling reached into one of the many pockets within his blue long coat and seized upon a small disk. He removed it from the pockets and surrendered it to the darkness looming over him.

Malak used the Force to take the holo-projector from Nord's hand and activated it. Upon doing so it activated the blue holo-projection of Skye Ravensong.

Malak simply stared for a moment. Impossible! It couldn't be true! She was dead! She was dead! If she were alive he would have felt her through the Force! He turned on Nord- for the foul trick the lying little pestilent pimple would die for such deceit. He reached out into the Dark Side of the Force, allowing it to fuel his body, feeding into his hatred.

Nord scrambled backwards his fear a putrid canker.

"It's true Ma...Master. Revan lives! And she's with the Jedi."

The anger had not abated in the Dark Lord but he drew it back from mindlessly reaching out and venting it on the bounty hunter. He could not deny the possibility of his former mater living. If Bastila had survived the bombardment of Revan's old ship then it was distinctly possible the old Dark Lord had as well. But it didn't explain why Malak couldn't feel her through the Force. Even now he had no sense of her. Then again, Revan had been very good at concealing her presence from other Force users when the need suited her. He had to know for certain. He had to see for himself.

"You will seek them out and bring them before me. Onasi has no collateral value but the Jedi Bastila and Revan you will bring them before me, alive. Exceed this mandate and you will taste my great displeasure, little pimple. Now get out."

Nord bowed once and scrambled as quickly as possible out of audience chambers. Never before was he so grateful for the breath he drew in. Dealing with intergalactic crime bosses like Kang and the Hutts, Nord thought himself ready to deal with the Sith. He could not have been more wrong.

KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR

Just as Skye was leaving the woman's quarters Zaalbar approached her. He seemed agitated and concerned. Behind him was Mission looking just as disconcerted as her woolly friend.

"I was checking our food supplies in the cargo hold and something isn't right," he said.

"What do you mean 'isn't right'?"

"Someone has been in the emergency stash of food. Mission and I asked everyone but nobody knows anything about it." The Wookiee grunted.

The young Twi'lek nodded vigorously in agreement. "Yeah it wasn't any of us. It's weird."

"You might want to check the food stores the next time you're in the cargo hold." Zaalbar said.

"And you can't solve this little mystery on your own Big Z?" Skye folded her arms over her chest giving him a disappointed look.

"He's good at fixing things and making grenades- not so good at sleuthing." Mission tried to help. "Besides you got those fancy Jedi mind tricks and you got that scout eye thing you do, bet you can suss out who's been nicking the food. There 'aint no poodoo anywhere so I don't think we have an animal problem."

"Right. Okay. I'll go check it out." She proceeded to do just that. First was an elementary course of action: check the supplies. It was as Zaalbar said they had been disturbed and no one in the party would have done this. So there must be another explanation.

Apparently this was where Zaalbar's detective skills stopped.

Upon closer examination there were no half-eaten or torn packages that would indicate the thefts were from pests or vermin thus Mission's observations proved correct. It was more like some unknown person has been conducting clandestine raids on the stores. Whoever the thief was they had managed to avoid detection by any of the crew. Thus far. This seemed to indicate the stowaway either had a stealth generator or was very very small.

Skye would have to search the ship if she wanted to find the culprit. She didn't need Jedi skills or scouting skills to use common sense. Thus the Jedi went to engineering where Teethree was busily humming to himself as he was conducting routine maintenance on the systems.

"Hey Teethree, I need you to use your scanners and search for lifeforms on the ship, excluding known occupants. We've got a stowaway."

The little astro-droid bleeped compliance. From the cylindrical disk of his head popped out his built-in-probe-sensors and began to twirl in his earnest sensor-search. Within moments, Teethree bleeped his success.

"Men's dorms eh? Good work," she patted the droid on his head then sprinted out the doors to the men's quarters. When she got there she found nothing. But she heard the patter of bare feet on metal. There had been someone here but they were small enough to fit under the floor panels of the ship's ducts where all the cabling was housed. They sounded as if they were headed back towards the cargo hold.

"So we have ourselves a duct rat..." Skye murmured as she sprinted to the hold just in time to see a tiny grimy human girl climb out of the duct works, who squealed when she saw the Jedi approach her.

"Kapona! Yooba na abdes nee choo!" She shouted frantically backing into the corner, looking nervously at the hatch. She seemed to be debating whether or not she could make an escape. She must have decided she couldn't hide any more so she remained rooted on spot.

"Hold on. Who are you?" Skye's voice wasn't sharp but it was authoritative. A mother's stern voice.

The girl shrunk backwards until her back was now pressed against the bulkhead. She offered no more explanation other than to repeat the garbled words. Then she hid her face behind her hands.

Trying to understand an alien language was as much intuitive deduction as much as it was reading body language. Having an uncanny knack for understanding linguistics Skye reasoned out what the girl was tying to convey.

"I see you or you see me?" the Jedi questioned keeping her voice smooth and steady.

"Me nah esowon," the girl said and once more hid her face.

"You... you're hiding."

"Me han esown na es istide," the girl appeared to be unsure of Skye. "Yooba non eswon na ghis."

"I didn't get all of that but sure." Skye shook her head, shrugging.

"Saha na esowan brigstag. Bristag me laesfa."

Skye thought about what she had heard trying to piece together the bastardized language the girl was speaking. "This is a starship, you're hiding in a starship and this is your home. I understand."

"Yooba eh gon-disen," the girl came out of the corner; her tentative steps were like those of a once-tamed pet now turned feral.

"Yeah you said that before. What is gon-disen?" Seeing the hesitant steps, Skye decides to make herself less imposing by sitting tailor style on the floor of the bay.

The girl laughs and points to Skye. She takes four more steps closer but remains standing.

"Something about me yes, but what?" Ravensong said more to herself than to the strange little girl.

The child smiles and pats her chest. "Gon-disen me."

"Something you like. Yes gon-disen means you like it."

The girl nodded. "Yooba eh goss gon-disen.

"Oh! You like me. Okay." Skye grinned. "Sure I like you too."

"Yooba na abds."

"Na abdes you said that when I fist met you."

The girl hits her leg and continues to say the word.

Ravensong frowned at first at the girl's actions, almost telling her not to do such a thing but it would have been wrong. You can not understand a foreign language without context. The action and the words were tied together. She was hitting herself and continued to say the words. There was a logical leap to the definition.

"Na abdes... adbs means hit is that it?"

The girl frowns and hits her leg again" Abdes, na adbs gon-disen."

_Okay... not to hit but something else, the result of being hit is pain. But no that's not it. You feel pain when you're hurt... HURT! "_Abdes doesn't mean hit... does it? It means to hurt. 'Na abdes' is not to hurt. Right?"

"Yooba na abdes," it was the sound of a plea.

"No of course not I'm not going to hurt you. Don't worry about it okay?"

The girl nods and finally fully trusting Skye enough to sit next to her.

The Nagai pointed to herself. "I'm called Skye what are you called?"

"Me Sasha."

"Sasha. Pretty name. See now we're making progress." Ravensong smirked.

The girl giggled at the teasing comment.

From the cargo bay's threshold Bastila and Juhani both lurked watching as Skye was dissecting the girl's strange mangled cannibalization of the Mandalorian language. It was taking time but soon enough Skye was actually talking to the girl in her own language. To Juhani it stirred up more memories. One of her and Revan. She wasn't much older than Sasha when she first encountered the captivating Knight...

KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR

Juhani sprinted across the busy streets of the Upper City of Taris. They had been here for only a few weeks. The Revanchist and her Jedi. They came to drive out the Mandalorians who had taken over after the Covenent had abandoned their vigil over the planet during the Padawan Massacre.

So excited to just to get a glimpse of the Jedi, the girl hadn't been watching here she had been going and careened directly into a side of a kiosk selling hot savoury pastries. The impact knocked several of the pastries over, many of which toppled to the ground.

The human owner sneered at the little Cathar ignoring her mumbled apology and saw only a thief not a child trying to pick up the mess she had made. He grabbed her little spindly wrist which was so easily snapped in his thick meaty hand should he choose to do so.

"You little fracking fur-licker! I should cut off your thieving little hand!" the rotund baker snatched a bread knife slammed the girl's hand onto the counter-top of his kiosk and brought the blade to bear.

Juhani let out a terrified squeal- many humans and other aliens ignored the cry; no one cared for the fate of thieves or the lower cities denizens, they got what they deserved.

"This little one is not worth the trouble." Boomed the voice of a Jedi, stilling the raging hand of the baker before he could strike.

"She's a thief!" the baker sneered, spittle frothing at the comers of his fat thick lips.

Revan looked at the mess, the crying trembling girl and back to the baker. "I doubt that. I hardly think a thief would want attention drawn to them. If she was, you would have lost some of your pastries without ever noticing it."

"Ha! She only wanted to create a distraction. All them fur-lickers are the same. You know what they're like."

"No, why don't you tell us." A new male voice called out from behind the baker.

"You know, thems fur-lickers are all dirty..." the human stopped mid-sentence as he saw the face of the speaker: a male Cathar.

The baker paled: a Jedi Cathar.

"You were saying..." the Cathar demanded.

"Er... er... not you of course Master Jedi. But that-that one's a thief. Just look at her! Scruffy, ditty thief I saw her taking my goods!"

"Seems to me human she was trying to clean up a mess she created like any sentient taking responsibility for their actions, accidental or otherwise." Revan commented dryly. "Isn't that right little one?"

Juhani nodded. Her eyes never leaving Revan's and even though the baker still held her captive, she had stopped struggling. Her fear had abated in the Jedi's presence- she knew she would not be harmed. Not now.

The Jedi approached. "I suggest this. You let the child go in the name of fairness and you won't lose the hand that's holding her hostage. As a Jedi I can not abide child abuse."

The child's hand was dropped immediately as the baker looked on in horror at the Jedi before him, knowing she was deathly serious.

"Now I'd buy some of you pastries but I'm not so sure they're entirely hygienic given the state of your apron." Revan went on in a causal conversational tone.

"Oy I wash my hands. I'm a clean baker, Master Jedi. I got me health certificate," he tapped the signage on the corner of his stall with fat index finger, "I got my pride."

"Very well, two dozen then." Revan flipped the man a credit chit.

"And what about thems that been broken? I can't sell them."

Revan looked at the broken pile, "call it a lesson in manners, fortunately it wasn't that costly."

The baker rubbed the wrist of the hand that had once held Juhani. "I'll wrap your order, Master Jedi," the voice was subdued and reserved. He gave a last scathing look at the Cathar child he knew to be a thief, all their kind were even the Jedi ones. The Nagai- the damned knife-ears scared him; she sympathized with the fur-lickers but she was a powerful Jedi, a war hero. So he did as told and hoped never to see the likes of her again. He couldn't see the back of her soon enough.

Revan opened the box of pastries and knelt before the young girl. "Go on take one or two," she offered a smile that caused Juhani to duck her head bashfully, the equivalent of a Cathar blush. The ten year old hesitantly snatched two of the pastries and began to earnestly much on them as if she had not tasted food in months. Indeed she looked like a near starved waif.

"So tell me youngling, do you have a name?"

Juhani forced a rather large bite down her throat, her golden eyes starring wide. "I...I...I'm Juhani."

"Juhani. Pretty name. So tell me Juhani, where were you off to in such a big hurry? Now I know you're no thief so no need to worry on that account."

Another duck of the head. "I...I... wanted to see you up close," she all but mumbled.

"Great another admirer," a tall boxy human male grumbled, rubbing his bare blue tattooed head. "Just give the waif the box of food already Revan and let's be on our way."

"Ease up there Alek," Revan chided her friend. "Tell you what, why don't you and the others go on ahead, I'll catch up."

The one addressed as Alek rolled his eyes and gave out a long suffering sigh of a man long experienced with his friend's nuances and bleeding heart. "If we stop to help every impoverished child on this rock we'd never get off it."

"Alek if we don't stop to save one life we will never save any." Revan said calmly. "Go on now. I said I'd catch up."

Juhani watched as the other Jedi started to depart but one lingered, a human female with soft unruly cut brown-blonde hair. "I will stay if it's all the same." She rested her long fingered hand on the Nagai's shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze.

Revan capped her hand over the other woman's and gave her a tender smile. "Don't you think we ought to introduce ourselves. We're being ever so rude," the human smiled teasingly.

"Right. This charming individual is General Meetra Surik, Knight of the Jedi order. And I am Revan, General and Jedi Knight."

"You... you're the one they call the Revanchist. You lead the Jedi!" Juhani gasped starring at the beautiful Jedi who had already captured her heart and her imagination.

"I am."

"I thought you wore a mask."

"Most of the time I do. Today I don't." She touched the girl's cheek caressing the soft fur. Their eyes met. "Juhani you are a very special girl. I can feel the Force in you."

"I wondered when you'd say," Meetra said looking at the youngling. "Ten years old, they may take issue with training her."

Juhani could only stare. "The Force! I have the Force?"

"Well all living creatures are touched by the Force it is in all of us. But to control it, to tap into it, that takes something special. A Force user." Meetra explained.

"And you can with training use the Force Juhani. You can become a Jedi."

"Will you be my master? Will you train me?" the ten year old dropped one of the pastries she had been eating onto the ground and took Revan's hand. "Please? I promise to obey all your rules; I'll be a good Padawan. I won't get in the way. I... I won't be a bother."

Revan shook her head. "I'm sorry but I can't take you with me. I go to war and that is no place for a child, even one with the Force. But if you go to Dantooine there is an Enclave there. It's smaller than the Temple on Coruscant, but the training is equal. And I think the agrarian world will better suit you than another sprawling mega metropolis."

"Me, a Jedi." Juhani smiled. She a Jedi, just imagine it! At that moment she vowed she make this dream come true. She would make her way to Dantooine; she would become a Jedi just like Revan.

Revan handed the box of savoury pastries to the girl. "Now here take these home with you. They may only last a meal or two but it'd be a shame for them to go to waste."

Juhani starred at the box as if it were some kind of joke. Hesitantly she took it and cradled it to her chest. "Thank you," she muttered.

Revan smiled. "When this war is over, I'll find you on Dantooine as a Padawan."

"I'll be there." Juhani said with a great measure of pride. "I'll make it happen."

Revan stood and then as a master she stood before the young Cathar girl. "Until that time, may the Force be with you, Juhani."

"And with you Master Revan. Oh! And with you too General Meetra." The girl was positively beaming.

KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR

Juhani pulled from the fond memory, her smile just as bright as it was on that fateful day. Now here again another little girl's life would forever be altered because of one Nagai Jedi.

The two had been talking for quite some time, long enough that Skye seemed almost fluent in the girl's garbled language. It was difficult to determine what the two were talking about, but whatever it was the child seemed to go from relaxed to unsure to relaxed again.

"Sasha look this isn't your home but I know where it is. There is a man... a Twi'lek named Lurak Sulas on Dantooine that has been looking for you. And he will take you to your parents." Skye informed her new charge gently.

"I can go home, home?"

"Yes. It will take a bit of time but yes. We're going to Tatooine right now and we can't afford to turn around but I'll contact the Dantooine port authorities and have them get in touch with Lurak. He'll come and pick you up and bring you to your parents, your true parents. Until then you'll stay on the ship with us."

"There is a Mandy here. Hims might make me slave again." Sasha said apprehensively.

"No he won't I can promise you that, in fact I can promise no one on this ship will hurt you. And I know Big Z looks scary, but he's a nice Wookiee. You'll like Mission and the other two ladies on the ship are Jedi just like me, you have nothing to worry about."

"What about the orange coat?"

"Oh him? He's a complete twit with saw-dust for brains but he's relatively harmless."

Sasha giggled.

"All right you, up and at'em. It's time to meet the others. Now remember they are not going to hurt you. And they won't be able to understand you like I can well maybe Grandpa Candy."

"Him the Mandy?"

Sky nodded. "Yep. Come on now we better get you settled. Oh and no more stealing rations. If you're hungry you tell one of us and we'll get you sorted."

Sasha nodded. "I promise no more taking."

"Good girl."

Skye made the introductions all around and preceded to inform Carth of his new job.

"You want me to baby-sit! Why me why not Mission?" Carth snipped.

"Because nitwit, you're the only one available that doesn't scare her. Grandpa Candy..." which gained a snarl from the Mandalorian, "...is a Mandy," she finished the sentence as if the guttural objections from Canderous never happened. "She's been a slave of them for a while, not exactly a good foundation to build a relationship with. Big Z is well big and hairy not the cuddly teddy bear sort either. Mission is going into Anchorhead with the rest of us on the account of her brother. I want Jedi at my back not some paranoid Republic trooper with delusions of grandeur who is more likely to put a bullet in the back of my scull than protect my ass. Plus you were a father, you know kids. And someone has to stay behind to watch-dog the ship that 'aint an astro-droid. That's leaves you flyboy."

"Blasted woman you actually think for one moment I'd shoot you? I'm not a traitor!"

"Still a paranoid shit, so yeah no I don't trust you to cover me without friendly-fire. But I do trust you to protect this child. But I if you accuse the girl of being Saul Karath... I will cut your franking head off. Because I won't ask this innocent to strip her clothes just to prove she isn't some old human male."

Carth looked sick, "What kind of monster do you think I am? I'm no paedophile!"

"I know you're not a deranged paedophile that needs to be put down which any Jedi would do without a second thought, but you are still a deranged paranoid fetcher." Skye said nonchalantly. "That being said, I know you're not your typical blundering jarhead trooper and I know you'll protect the girl."

Carth's rage was palpable. He got into the face of Skye. "Feel free to mock me, but don't you say a word against our troops!"

Skye grinned. "Just so we're clear… I am free to mock you?"

Carth stomped out of the hold grumbling.

Bastila moved forward and placed a hand on her bond-mate's shoulder almost affectionately. "Skye, insulting Onasi isn't..."

"What- the Jedi way?" A dark eyebrow arched up.

Bastila shook her head. "I was going to say the wisest course; he is after all the primary pilot on this ship. He may just decide to crash it if only to be rid of his Jedi passengers."

"Pfft, he'd never do that," the Nagai grinned, and winked to Mission. "He'd scruff up that hideous orange jacket of his."

The other women laughed at this.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

"Keep hydrated, keep any exposed skin protected and your heads covered. We don't take any unnecessary risks. No one plays the macho 'I-can-deal-with-it-card', not in the desert. I don't care who you are or what rank you hold or how tough you think you are and the desert doesn't care either. Keep the canteens full- if you see someone on the squad struggling you speak up; if you're struggling, you speak up.

"Weakness to the squad comes from the self and if you're not a hundred percent you will kill us all and that's on you. Remember that. The strength of the squad comes from the self when you give everything you have and more, and that's a credit to you. Remember that.

"The plan is to split up in order to find any Intel on the Star Map without actually divulging what it is we're looking for. Talk to people that will relate you at least on the surface level. Canderous, hit the mercs; do what you need to do. Mission and Zaalbar go for the urchins. You grew up on the streets, you speak the same language. You know the drill, you what to look out for. Big Z try not to scare any of the desert rats, just make Mission seem tough by having a Wookiee on a leash. I don't mean to demean you, but it's necessary. It will impress any little thug or swooper. Mish, you know better than to follow anyone anywhere that 'aint secure. No back alleys, no secret dens, no it's-my-cousin's-place-she/he-aint-home-it's-safe's. If you can get into the cantinas, hit the pazaak tables but keep the cheating to a minimum."

"I won't let you down Skye." Mission said, proud to be asked to be a part of the plan, and an integral part by the sound of it.

Zaalbar barked his own affirmation. "I'll watch her. Don't worry."

Canderous only made a grunt to confirm he was going to follow the orders he was given.

"I'm counting on it." Skye said to the three of them. "Anchorhead has heavy a Czerka Cooperation presence and the Hutts allow it. No doubt Czerka has this city under heavy scrutiny. It's not the Hutts' thugs we have to worry about but the company's minions. Remember they have dealings with the Exchange which means a whole hell of a lot of unwanted trouble for us. Let's not get their attention by doing things the stupid way, hum? Ol' Tin-Jaw will have agents, bounty hunters and any other scumbag looking for us. When they come I want it to be on my terms not theirs and it sure as hell won't be on the meatbag of a Sith's terms."

Her comments gained a chorus of laugher from the assembly which she smiled at, but continued her debriefing.

"Bastila, Juhani and I will hit the Czerka mining office, trading and merchants guilds. We'll also see if we can't find some local low level Hutt and make him think he can advance his status if he makes a deal with a trio of Jedi especially if he believes he's gaining the better of us.

"Carth and Teethree you two still have babysitting duties, keep the girl safe. We only have a day—two on the outside before Lurak Sulas shows up to take Sasha back home. Keep her happy, keep her safe. No one comes near this ship, enters her that isn't already apart of her crew without my direct authority. Neutralize any party who makes the attempt. I don't care who they claim they represent. No one. Am I clear?"

"Understood."

The monosyllabic response was more than she had gained from Canderous but essentially it was the same as a grunt as far as confirmations went, but the former Dark Lord required nothing more.

Teethree whistled and hooted a question to which the Jedi gave a lopsided shrug. "If you want to shock intruders be my guest." Skye answered. "Hell, threaten them with a flame thrower if you have to Teethree. I prefer if you don't kill anyone that is just being a nuisance but we can't have Malak's spies disrupting our mission. I'll leave it to your discretion; do what is necessary but no more. Alright, you all know what you need to do. Gear up, time to roll."

Each team broke off from the Hawk's CIC to locate gear, weapons and armour. It took the Jedi and Mandalorian substantially less time to gear-up than it did the two refugees form Taris. It gave Skye plenty of time to let Sasha in on what was happening as the girl had a pale- panicked expression on her face as she watched her saviour getting ready to leave her.

Skye knelt down so she was eye level to the child. "Look, I have to go but I will be back. See the bearded man in the funny orange coat?" she spoke using the girl's broken language.

Sasha nodded. Her bottom lip trembling, her eyes threatening at any given moment to leak tears.

"Remember his name?"

"Carth," it was a mumbled response almost petulant.

"Yes. That's right. Now he's going to look after you. He even has a son of his own so he's okay with kids. And Teethree my droid will is staying too. But I have a job for you. I'm leaving the _Hawk_ and I need someone to guard it. Typically I'd leave one the others behind as well but I figure you're old enough now to help out. So what do you say? Can you protect the _Ebon Hawk_ make sure no one else gets on board and tires anything sneaky."

"I can do that!" Sasha bobbed her head vigorously, her earlier anxiety all but forgotten. "I know where all the hidey-holes are! I know where a person could sneak about if they wanted to."

"Good girl. I knew I could count on you." Skye beamed. It might have been her imagination but the child seemed to puff up just a little. "Oh and make sure Carth doesn't sneak too many candy bars while I'm out. But you can have one now and another after dinner. Now we probably won't be back until late, but I'll return before Lurak shows up to take you back home to your parents-your real parents."

Sasha nodded slowly adjusting to the fact her world was going to change yet again. She wasn't at all happy about Skye leaving her or the fact she was being sent to people that were only alive in her dreams. The Mandies that took her said dream-people don't live any more, they aren't real any more. But Skye was a Jedi and she said they did live, they were real. The girl wanted to believe the Jedi... if felt somehow right. Skye's words didn't make her feel empty like the Mandies' did.

Out of the impulsive affection common of children, even the lost ones, Sasha threw her arms around Skye's neck and hugged her tightly. "Be careful Skye."

"I will," the Jedi winked. "Don't worry."

Coming up behind the young girl was Mission with a rather sheepish expression on her face; in her hand she held an A4 sized cardboard box. "Um..."she coughed. "When I was at the Enclave's space port I found this little souvenir shop," her blue face turned a shade purple as she blushed. "I sorta picked this up for um... well... just because, alright? It's not like I'd play with them but, well you know... one of them kinda looks like you Skye well 'cept she's human and not so pale-skinned. But she's a Jedi—her light saber is even green like your smaller one."

Skye was grinning from ear to ear was realized the box Mission was holding was a set of Jedi action figures, Republic soldiers, a few bounty-hunter types as well as a couple of nondescript figures in Mandalorian armour.

"Where in frack did you find those?"

"Like I said a little souvenir shop. They deal with um... stuff..."

"You mean vid and game paraphernalia." Skye was still grinning. She had translated easily what the lekku were telling her which was not exactly the same as what the teen's voice was.

"Yeah so what? Shut up." Mission frowned defensively; she had forgotten that the Nagai understood the Twi'lek body language of lekku. "A lot of _old _people were in there too you know. It's not a toy store. It's a... stuff store and it's not just _collector's_ items, they have graphic novels too, even some clothes."

"Old people? You mean sentients my age, don't you?" the Jedi was now standing up her arms folded over her chest—bemused.

"Pfft ,whatever. Yeah okay. Stop looking like you're 'bout ta bust a gut laughing. Anyway I was _trying_ to do something nice. You know something semi-Jediish? Like let Sasha open the box and play with the figures. I mean they won't be in mint-condition anymore. But she's gonna be bored out of her mind just milling around here with nothin' to do. And I have a drawing tablet and a stylus she can use too.

"Don't know if she can read Basic or not but I bought a couple of book down-loads for my 'reader for the trip, but, er... they might be too advanced for her. It's not the sappy-romance trash Zaerdra read all the time." Mission made a sour face. "But she might like 'em." Mission nodded towards the ten year old. "Oh! I just thought of it, if Sasha can read Hutteese I can switch the translation-mode on the pad for her."

Skye put a hand on the young Twi'lek's shoulder, her face now more reserved. "Mission, that is very generous of you. Thank you. Truly." The Jedi translated to the child which gained another vigorous head bob. "I think she likes the idea as well. Go ahead and show her and Mission-I'll buy you another box if you let her have that one. Fair deal?"

"Fair deal Boss." The teen looked down to the younger girl offered her hand and smiled pleasantly. "Come on Sash, I've got something that will make waiting not so boring," she said in Hutteese which apparently the child did seem understand, or well-enough of it to trust and follow Mission back in to the female dorms.

The Tarisian teenager knew all about what it was to be alone amongst strangers. Hell, she even knew what it was like to iodize the Jedi. She'd never forget meeting Zayne Kayak Carrick for the first time. _Boy was he cute_. Her mind wondered a little. She couldn't help it; he had become something of a romantic figure in her imagination. And she couldn't help but wonder if the lost padawan ever find what he and his friends had been looking for?

"Skye." Mission started, "um you said I could go with you to the Czerka office to find out what happened to my brother..."

Skye winced. She had forgotten about that. "Yeah sure, no problem Mission. You come with us then you hit the kids and swoopers."

KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~

Bastila watched on with a divided mind. Revan... was beginning to show through the crevasse of the carefully constructed 'reality' the Masters had constructed. It seemed the personality of the fallen knight was simply too strong to be converted forever. But then wasn't that the point-to have those cracks within Revan's mind so they might be exploited and the secrets of the Star Forge given to the Jedi Masters.

But in insuring these tiny cracks in the fabric of 'Skye's' mind came the contradictory mannerisms of the once great Jedi Knight. Revan / Skye shown kindness in one hand while arming the other with cunning manipulation. Skye had shown maternal care for Sasha, teased Carth, shown a sisters love for Mission and manipulated the Czerka Dock-master into bypassing the normal fee for the privilege of landing within Anchorhead's city limits. The pretence of course, had been that she wasn't going to give finances to the corrupt mega-corporation who had such a stranglehold on the desert city that the citizens didn't even think to counterman their directives. There was even contempt in Skye's heart as she described- within the privacy of her own mind- the citizenry as nothing more than willing prisoners obliging themselves to an organization as morally bankrupt as the Sith and Mandalorians.

Bastila remained mute after her initial protest of Skye's abuse of her Jedi powers over the dock-master and the subject of paying the landing fees, and was now curiously watching as the Nagai put her other skills to task.

Mission however, wasn't so discrete. "I sure wish I had handy Jedi tricks to do something like that."

"I want to know why Czerka Corporation is even here." Skye demanded firmly.

"I can't really get into that," the official said with an air of shame... no embarrassment in his tone. "It hasn't been a very smooth operation. I shouldn't get into it."

You'd have to be a deaf and blind wamp-rat not to see the red flags going up at that. Just by the omission alone the man was inviting questions. "You want to tell me about it." Skye's suggestion slid easily into the man's weak mind.

"I can tell you more I guess, it's not a big secret or anything, just not good for business. You see Czerka Corporation has staked their claim to this planet based on some very promising geological surveys. Unfortunately that information wasn't exactly accurate and possibly even planted as sabotage by their rival companies."

"So Czerka Corp has set up shop on a barren planet?"

"Not totally barren," the man became defensive. "There were a few good years of mining and some operations are still in place. But the ore is flawed; it as peculiar properties. They had to look at other forms of businesses."

Slavery? Surely the Hutts had the corner on that market on Tatooine but it was one Czerka was no doubt willing to establish co-ventures in. What struck the Jedi in particular was what the human said about the ore. Something close to a deja-vu tickled her mind and the Nagai could not fathom why. Something familiar... "What makes the ore substandard?"

"Czerka has really tried to hide this, but it just seems that Tatooine metal is ill-suited for manufacturing. I would imagine this outpost will be eventually abandoned. Nobody is making any money here. Of course this rock has been settled a few times, so look for some other company to get stuck with it."

Back to the other thing the male had brought up. "What other forms of business have you looked at here?"

"Prospects that, um, appeal to the causal traveller, and there are some fearsome native species that prove for some exciting hunting. There are also lengthy barren waists that serve as fine swoop tracks. Attracting business has been slow however."

"What is known about the history of this planet?"

"Very little. There are hints that it might once have been a lush world but I can't picture it as anything but a desert. Native sentient species have no records going back that far. This has been hundreds of years ago maybe thousands." He shrugged indifferently. "Of course the native species are not very willing to tell anyone anything," he chuckled. "They are barely more than animals."

"Maybe because they resent being the 'exciting hunting opportunities'." Juhani snorted. She knew well from her own peoples' treatment at the hands of the Mandalorians how it was to be deemed the prey in the most deadly game. Back on her old planet it was quite the game the Mandies set up before Revan destroyed them.

"The sand people are vicious," the dock master once again became defensive. "They attack outsiders on site. They are more animal than anything really. Maybe they know the history of Tatooine, maybe they don't. Impossible to tell seeing as they won't cooperate."

"If outsiders were attacking my own people as hunting sport, I'd be disinclined to cooperate as well." Bastila said, adding her protest to that of Juhani.

"We did not incite the confrontations. They've given Czerka Corporation a rough time. Its hard enough mining this rock without suffering random attacks. So yes, the company has put up a bounty for them. But I sure 'aint going to try for it."

"So where do I look for jobs and entertainment," Skye slipped in with her silver tongue, trying to milk the man for more information .

"It depends on what level of risk you're willing to take. Like I said, there's the swoop track for betting or if you're so inclined, to race it yourself. I'd talk to the Hutt there, that's in the west end of Anchorhead. Or you could ask at the Czerka office if there are any bounties that need collecting. If you go in I'd ask for a hunting licence so you can sell to Faza at his hunting lodge just north of them.

"So what about relics or rare finds, things of that nature?"

"You a digger?" he shook his head. "Didn't figure Jedi for diggers. I mean we've found some ruins but they've always been stripped by sand people soon after. You're not going to get anywhere with them. You could ask around I suppose, but I doubt anyone knows anything more. Though you could ask a Jawa, but it's hard to tell what they know. Hard to understand them. They're scavengers and a bit primitive, but they have an affinity for droids. Some of our scientists think they may not even be from here, but where their native home land is I don't know."

"I shudder to think of what your 'scientists' have done to them."

"Nothing too invasive that would get a Jedi upset," the man said quickly as his eyes followed the Nagai's hands resting on the pommels of her lightsabers. "The sand people do far worse. They end up salves to them more often than not. Not good warriors but they are very good traders. If you're looking for something, best bet is they'd know something but... I can't get a word they say. Maybe you being a Jedi might understand 'em a bit better."

"So how long as Anchorhead been here?" Skye shifted the direction of the conversation.

"Czerka's only been here for a few years but it goes back further than that. Some other corporation held it, but they must have gone under. Not a lot of records kept in a place like this."

"That's what I figured. We need to get going."

"As you wish. I'll be around at the docks or at the office should you need anything Master Jedi." The office he spoke about was nothing more than a cubical with an awning for a roof, tucked away near a few vendor stalls.

"Not muck of a lead but it's a starting point I suppose," Bastila said, "and I believe you were right about making him give us a docking pass. Bounty hunting criminals is one thing- that at least I can understand. Hunting sentient species for sport is quite another."

Skye nodded as if to say 'I told you so'.

"They're scumbags. No wonder Griff fell in with them. Seems he's always falling in with the wrong crowd." Mission mumbled. "I hope the office keeps better records on it's employees then it does the planets they take over."

"I'm sure they will have something. Who knows Mission, he may even be there- or at least at the company barracks." Skye said trying to uplift the teen's spirits.

As the companions were nearing the massive red metal gates of the city proper they were approached by a tan-skinned Twi'lek woman. Her body language seemed to carry with it a strange air of familiarity.

She spoke in Huttese, "Excuse me. I know it's been a very long time dear, but aren't you Bastila Shan?"

Despite the fact that the three jedi felt no air of hostility towards them from the woman, they shifted into defensive stances. A sweet, unassuming demeanour meant little when you were the target of a very powerful megalomaniac. It meant only that the 'innocent' could get in that much closer.

Juhani and Skye flanked the unnamed Twi'lek, ready to go into action waiting for Bastila to react. Skye in particular kept a close eye on the woman's lekku; so far they remained slightly relaxed, the tips moving only very slightly indicating hopeful intentions. "Helena Shan's little girl?" she took a step closer. "Yes! It is you. I can see it in your eyes," she looked the human up and down and smiled. Even her lekku shifted with pleased joy. "My have you gown!"

"I'm Bastila yes. I take it you know my mother." It wasn't a question more like an accusation.

"Oh yes. I worked for your father on an expedition years ago. Your mother showed me holos of you before you... well, before you left. Such a pretty little girl you were," she answered softly.

The last line got a smirk out of Skye. "Just who are you?"

"Oh where are my manners, my name is Anlare."

Bastila looked disturbed, as if she wanted to be anywhere but where she was. Exasperated she addressed Anlare. "Is there anything I can do for you Miss Anlare? You can see we're in quite a hurry."

Playing the devil's advocate, Skye couldn't help but poke fun at her bond-mate. "Don't be rude Bastila. We can hear her out."

"Oh, I didn't mean to take your time. I just wanted to ask if your mother's condition has improved since I last saw her."

That sucked the fun out of the air. And Anlare's coiling lekku transmitted that her concern was not feigned but genuine.

"My mother's condition?" Bastila frowned.

"Oh you don't know? Oh my dear. I just assumed she had found you, when I talked to her last she was desperate to find you."

"I have not seen my mother since I joined the Order." Bastila said haughty. "Do you know what has happened? Did... she... say anything about my father?"

Anlare shook her head. "No I'm sorry dear. Your mother is very ill; she didn't say anything about your father."

"I see, when did you last see her?"

"Oh she's here. I assumed that was why you came. She's here in the cantina. You may wish to go see her considering her condition."

"I guess we should go see your mother Bastila." Skye's voice lacked the typical levity it normally held. it was repacked by true care.

"Part of me would rather not talk to her at all," came a bitter reply. "But if she really is sick... well, we shall see."

"If I had the opportunity to speak with my mother again, just one more time, I would seize the opportunity for the gift that it is." Juhani said almost wistfully—sagely. The way her mother had died... the illness, the starvation... if she could see her mother once more, show her she had made that little girl's promise come true. She had become the Jedi she vowed to be. "Do not squander the chance to say good-bye if she is so very ill on memories of the past."

"Heck I don't even remember my mother or my father. There was only ever Griff." Mission piped up. "But if I got to see her again. I don't think I'd miss the chance."

Bastila sighed, she knew her counterparts well enough to know they would not allow her to ignore this. Skye would insist on the reunion. "Very well, but we have other more pressing matters to attend to," she stalked away saying nothing more leaving Skye and Juhani to stare at each other.

"You know you both just out Jedi'ed her. And I don't think she liked it." There was a smirk on the Nagai's face.

An equally playful smile graced the Cathar's lips. "No, I don't think she did."

"Aw, Miss Snooty-pants will get over it." Mission declared in the dismissive manner of a teenager.

Skye slung her arm around the young Cathar woman's shoulder, practically missing the slight near inaudible gasp of breath escaping from Juhani. "So hey, we better shuffle off and see what sort of trouble we can get into..." a slight blush to the cheeks... "...err, I mean, you know what good we can do."

"Of course that is what you meant." Juhani smiled shyly, loving the small amount of contact she had with the dark manned Jedi. The newly knighted Jedi could not help but think of another Nagai Jedi. But every time she thought of Revan, her mind slipped over the face she remembered as a ten year old into something she couldn't. And even when she tired to focus on the face a fierce pain tapped her mind like the edges of a migraine and so she instinctively backed away from it and allowed her vision to slip over the intimate details of another's face. Skye's face.

"I guess we should catch up to her," the Nagai said watching as Bastila practically stormed into the Czerka office.

SWSWSWSWSWSWSW

The first thing noticeable about the office was the blast of cold air wrapping itself around the four as they entered. It had the slight stale taste of recycled air as aboard a ship, but it was a reprieve from the lung-stifling still clime of the desert despite the fact they hadn't been in it for long. The shock of heat when the companions first exited the ship had been like suffering blunt force trauma; the shift in climate was so sudden and this was a small reprieve.

The second truly noticeable thing was that the office was sparsely decorated: a circular reception kiosk manned by a Rodian male; a row of metallic benches in the designated waiting area, and a small L-shaped desk where a forty-year-old dark-haired human female sat. The look on her face was suggested that she wanted to be anywhere but where she was.

"Do you think she knows what happened to my brother?" Mission asked Skye.

"Very likely. But I doubt she'll cop to it willingly," Skye said to the teen. She put her hand on the young Twi'lek's shoulder noticing the disheartened twitch of the leuuks, her lekku. "Not to fret, I told you I would find out what happened to him and I will even if I have to..." she touched her forehead with two-fingers, "...be a little more 'Forceful' about it." Skye finished with a slight wink to her young friend.

The girl's blue lips pulled into a smile, and the curl of her head-tails gave a clear indication that she was highly amused by the bad pun.

The name on the desk proclaimed her the woman sitting there to be: Operations Manager. She barely looked up and registered who she was looking at; her brown eyes held impatience and contempt. "Yes?" her voice was more on the snide side. "This is the offices of Czerka Corporation. If this is about employment, you should know all mining positions are filled and before you ask we are also out of hunting licenses."

Skye cleared her throat. "Do I look like I'm here for a job? Take a good look. A hard look, I realize it may take some time." Skye retorted in the same sharp snide tone.

"You're a Jedi." The woman said realizing her blunder in her earlier dismissive nature. "Three Jedi."

"Oh very good." Skye smirked. "Now that we established that fact, how about another. I'm looking for a minor miner named Griff."

"I've never heard of him. I don't know a man by that name. No, I don't ever remember a single 'Griff' on Czerka Cooperation's payroll."

Skye whistled, "Oh now that was too quick- too fast. I don't need to be a Jedi to know that you're a liar. Spill it woman. You do know of course as a Force-User I can _will_ you to give me what I want but I'm going to give you the chance to do so willingly. Your choice."

The officer sighed. "Maybe I should get this off my chest. Yeah we hired that Twi'lek sometime ago. He was a migrant worker according to his dossier. He wasn't a good worker according to the crew chiefs; he was always feigning injuries to get out of work. He entered false time sheets after his shifts, and he was suspected stealing Czerka cooperation supplies though we could never prove it."

"Yeah that sounds like him." Skye said.

"We would have fired him but frankly we needed workers. Maybe it would have been better if he _had_ been fired, then the Sand People wouldn't have captured him."

"Sand people?" Mission piped up worriedly.

"Yes, one of our teams was attacked; nobody was left alive. It was then that we noticed Griff wasn't amongst the dead; we can only assume that he had been taken prisoner and whether or not he was still alive we cannot say. In the end, we decided it wasn't financially feasible to search for him."

"You shutta! You left him to rot!?" Mission screamed. She was stopped from storming the operative by Skye's hand on her shoulder.

The woman snorted. "All Czerka Cooperation employees sign a waver that exempts Czerka from all financial liabilities and they understand all employees are expendable. But Czerka Corporation cares deeply for all of its employees. That's why we started a bounty program on the Sand People to thin their numbers."

"Thin their numbers? You are talking about culling them as if they were vermin not sentients." Juhani made no attempted to disguise her seething ire. The young Cathar had seen plenty of culling on her home planet. "You can not treat people like rakghouls and get away with it!"

The human woman took a step back, intimidated by the anger flurrying in the Jedi. It wasn't just radiating from the Cathar- it was coming from all three of them.

"Look, I talked too much as it is. I shouldn't have told you as much as I did about sensitive Czerka... this is privileged information. I could lose my job for as much as I told you."

"Could you just please stop saying your company's name in every sentence it's annoying. Though not as insidious as offering a bounty on the heads of people."

"To be clear: we don't want their heads, we want only their gaffi sticks."

Bastila frowned. "Gaffi sticks?"

"Their gaffi sticks are unique to each member; costum made. We prefer them as proof of bounty to their heads dumped on our office floor."

Bastila looked revolted as did the other Jedi as well as Mission.

"Back on point these hunting licences..." Skye started. "You have them. You have a strangle hold on this city. Everyone is forced to buy your products, your stock, because no one can leave without your say so. No one can trade without your say so, unless you want to deal with the Hutts. Effectively you have strangled the people of Anchorhead. In fact you have enslaved them. Now I know that the Hutt clans don't like to share their slaves; their right to be deplorable despots and crime bosses.

"Admittedly you have ties to the Exchange, but hell not even the Exchange has full executive powers in their regimes. The Sith glassed Taris despite the presence of Exchange and Czerka being there. This dust bowl has never been a bother to the Sith because lets face it, why bother, let the Hutts have it."

"Now this is how it's going to play out. You will sign over hunting licenses to me and my party for whatever reason you seem to think we need one."

"We use them to monitor those we deem fit to leave the city. We don't allow causal exploration because of legal obligations," the operative started. "Czerka assumes no responsibilities for loss of life beyond the gates."

"Would that be the legal obligations you require your employees to sign a waver against and assume all personal and financial liabilities." Skye shot back. "Did you not just say Czerka assumes no responsibility?"

"You _are_ keeping everyone one prisoner here!" Bastila shot. "Only Czerka Corp employees can leave the city if they want to or need to."

"With the downturn of employment, a lot of people are looking for any way of making credits. Most people wouldn't survive a day, let alone qualified hunters. The last licence we issued was given to a woman named Marlene Bann. She will do fine: she had a mean streak a mile wide and a dozen battle droids, she also paid double. Instances like this are rare unless it suits the company to issue them."

"It will suit the company to give dispensation to the Jedi." Bastila said, her fingers twitching. "You will not _hold_ us prisoner. And you will not give us an ultimatum or demands for the license."

The operative twitched, her mind shifted. "It is in the best interest to grant special dispensation the Jedi. We require no ultimatums or demands. Hunting licenses will be granted."

Skye flashed Bastila a prideful 'that's my girl' smirk.

"Excellent. Snap to it," the younger Jedi said as if she were speaking to an ill-tempered, ill-mannered child. It wasn't until the licences were in hand that Ravensong spoke.

"Tatooine is known for the indigenous population of the Sand People or the Tuskans, not even the Hutts bother with them much. Why is it that Czerka wants to eradicate them? Effectively committing genocide, that doesn't sound very cost effective."

"It's more expensive trying to replace all the sand crawlers they are destroying and replacing all the miners they are killing off. There is one tribe that is particularly aggressive. It seems like their Chief is waging a private war against Czer..." she paused in the narrative after the warning look from the Jedi not to say the full name of her company. "...against the Corporation. "The Board declared termination against the hostiles was necessary."

"What sacred lands or customs did you tread upon to make them so hostile?" Skye demanded. "It's widely known that the Sand People make occasional raids on travellers and even on the lonely farm settlements; they even take pot-shots at racers, but they don't make open war- not unless they are provoked first. So what did you do to piss them off?"

"You sound like that Dayso Cooh fellow, ranting about safe guarding that village. That bleeding-heart Duros apparently cared nothing for the law. We have legal rights to the dunes. Czerka Cooperation has indisputable dominion. The enclave to the east is now Czerka property. If you want to know more, you might try trailing after one of our sand crawlers. Like I said, they are regularly attacked. If you are unwilling to collect the bounties then perhaps you can escort them. But we will pay a bounty on any gaffi sticks you recover. But it is an enforceable contract; we take the lives of our minors very seriously."

"Good thing we're not entering into any contract." Skye said. "So what's going on here besides your war with the Sand People?"

The operative shrugged. "It's not like you won't find out on your own once you leave the gates. The mining operations here have dried up. The ore is substandard and there is less of it than the surveys indicated. On top of the raiders, it's known that this planet has been abandoned before. Czerka is not doing well here and it would be foolish to stay. It will be costly to pull out now, but less expensive than it would be to stay in the end. I imagine all the heavy equipment will be abandoned. Ha, maybe the Jawas will scavenge it. But I can't imagine what they would do with sand crawlers."

Again with the ore. Somehow the Jedi got the distinct feeling this wasn't a natural phenomenon. "What makes the ore substandard?" the question was once more asked.

"No one is quite sure. There are odd energy fluctuations. They defy analysis or explanations. But the effect is obvious. Ore taken from Tatooine is used for construction and degrades fast. Word is getting out; we're running out of buyers."

"Meaning you can't pass off your crap material." Skye scoffed. "Hey Bastila maybe we should call the Jedi Temple and have them dispatch a Padawan to investigate these lawbreakers. Putting innocent lives at stake with substandard ore and all. Imagine it, a shifty mega-corporation making a ton of credits over the loss of life which of course we know they assume no responsibility over."

Bastila grinned. "I think that is a very good idea. No reason to get tied up in the courts with litigation when the direct approach is much better."

"Aggressive negotiations." Juhani added.

"Now hold on there..."

"Better keep that thought to yourself human if I were you." Ravensong hissed. "Your port officer claimed this planet was abandoned before, is it because of the ore?"

"There is great evidence to support this," the human nodded. "Seems several attempts had been made to mine and each time the efforts were abandoned. The time between each attempt was just long enough for any records of why it failed to disappear. The Jawas scavenge ancient tech all the time. It's a remote world, who knows what's here."

'_Do you think the faulty ore has anything to do with the Star map?' Bastila sent along the bond. _

'_That would be the logical conclusion. The chances of _all_ the ore being sour are very high. Generally some of it would be good, __or__ useful, but it isn't. So what's corrupting it? Something natural we can not see far below the sands or__ fluctuations__ in the Force__?__ You can feel it __and__ so can Juhani. After all this time I can't image it to be merely mundane Not even the Hutts could do that despite the fact __that__ they obliterated Nar Shaddaa's ecosystem."_

"Anything odd happening?"

"By odd I assume you mean that happened to Taris. Czerka is not offering any opinion."

"Don't want be caught out on the losing side so we? Or suddenly find yourselves in the company of the enemy by the winner?" Skye snidely offered.

"Czerka is not subject to your approval Jedi, so save us your commentary," the officer snapped back.

"Anything more local?" Bastila interrupted.

"If you want local, I suggest you go to the swoop track," the officer continued along her condescending tone. "It's one of the few leading industries on Tatooine."

"And one you don't have your grubby hands on." Mission muttered under her breath. Low enough that the Czerka rep hadn't heard it but she did gain a chastising look from Bastila. Though from Skye she gained an approving slip of a smile. Ghostly, but it was there all the same.

The rep continued as if she hadn't heard a thing. "There was also a Jawa in here earlier complaining about something to do with some of his people going missing. He might know something; he left for the Northern Gate. It was difficult to tell what he truly wanted. Our translator droid had difficulty with the message."

"I think we're done here." Skye turned her back on the rep and focused it upon her fellow Jedi and the young woman who was looking up to the Nagai with such high expectations.

"Skye, you will go after Griff right? I mean I get not wanting to do the culling but... but... the Sand People took my brother prisoner. He may be a slime, but we have to go rescue him. We... we... we... can't just leave him with those monsters!"

Skye put both hands upon Missions' shoulders, then shifted to touch her lekku in very a Twi'lek way; a very maternal way. "Mission I promise you we will save him."

The younger female practically fell in to the Jedi's arms. "I knew I could count on you!" she perked up. "There are definitely fringe benefits to being friends with a Jedi."

Skye winked. "So not just the free parking spaces?"

That got a giggle out of the teen. "How do you manage to do that?"

"Do what?"

"Make everything better with just a few words. It's like Jedi magic without the Force."

Skye smirked and offered a shrug. "It's a gift."


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22:

Once out of the Czerka office, Mission wandered off to the swoop track to meet Zaalbar. Her young mind still swimming with the implications of her brother's incarceration at the hands of the Sand People and Czerka's easy dismissal of his fate. The only thing that kept her from the dread worry was a Jedi's promise.

"Where to next?" asked Juhani once the teens had departed. "The cantina or the hunter's club?"

"We're closer to the hunters club, we should to there." Bastila put forth. It was a logical choice- Skye however was known for unconventional thinking and if it was going to amuse her by making the younger Jedi confront her mother in a bar, she'd probably choose the den of iniquity.

"Bas is right; let's hit the all boys-pissing-club. And hold your noses ladies these desert rats wouldn't know what to do with a shower- hydro or sonic- if they fell into it. The whole damn place will reek of testosterone, posturing and chest thumping."

"And this will be different from the cantina how?" Juhani queried.

Straight-as-you-like, Skye flashed a cocky grin and answered. "No strippers."

"And will you be trying to charm these laggards like you do others?" Shan poised the question as if she didn't wish to hear the answer.

"Not on your life. We won't get an answer with silver-tongued charm in there; leastwise not one we'd want. With all their swagger and sweat, the only thing that lot think women are for is fracking. We may need to play it a bit rough," the former dark lord continued to talk as she walked towards the hunter's lodge. "A bit like that pit in Lowtown back on Taris."

"Only this time we are not playing the roles of downed couriers." Bastila reminded the older woman. "We are Jedi. Are you suggestion we play-act as agents of the Dark Side?"

A dark eyebrow rose at the challenging comment. "Been enough 'play acting' around here already don't you think? No, we play it straight for once, but be coy about being in the Order. If we play as rookie hunters they will only mock us and tell us to frack off. Just follow my lead. Credits or the promise of it will loosen tongues. Oh and if any of those sleemos start hassling either you and make a grab for your tits or ass, give them an elbow to the face then pull out the lightsaber before things get too rough. They'll back down. No one wants to risk loosing a hand to lightsaber."

The other two Jedi considered Ravensong's words and found themselves agreeing to tactics. "This is why you did not want the child Mission with us," said the Cathar.

"Yeah," nodded Skye. "She and Big Z can handle themselves around swoopers; they know the language- the culture. This is a whole different breed of scum. I don't want to have to worry about her getting molested while I'm pressing one of that lot for Intel.

"Grant you, there maybe a few in there that are legit, but they will be in the minority. Mark my words. Five-to-get-Ten we only find one in there worth talking to. And all the others will know his name, his rep and his skills. He'll be the one sitting alone at a table, back to the corner, watching the others while pretending the whole while he isn't. He's got respect and fear and envy.

"The only thing is we'll have to talk to a few of the other twits to gauge what they think of him, how he hunts and what he knows or what they think he knows about the Dune Sea. Once we have a base we can approach him. Now he will have been watching us work the crowd and expect us to hit him up for information. Now this will go down one of two ways: either he's a pro and gentleman with a code of honor he set for himself and that code may not makes sense to us, but it makes sense to him and he won't break it. Or he could be a pro and be a complete douche bag over it like Mr. Mushroom Hat was and refuse to talk to anyone else because he views everyone else as beneath him."

Juhani took the words in easily processing them but the last she stumbled over. "Who is Mr. Mushroom Hat?"

"She means Calo Nord. A bounty hunter who worked for Davik Kang back on Taris." Bastila explained. "He liked to count to three before he tossed a flash-bang grenade and shot you just for trying to talk to him. He's dead now, and good-riddance, he was a piece of filth."

Ravensong couldn't agree more.

"And what if he refuses to talk to us?" inquired Juhani.

"Then we get inventive." Smiled Skye.

Bastila shook her head. "Please don't."

The Nagai only chuckled; her features alight with a mischievous glint.

"I have a bad feeling about this," muttered Bastila carefully under her breath.

Skye draped her arm around the human's neck and shoulders and gave her a tender kiss upon the cheek. "You worry too much Princess." With a wink she released a very stunned Bastila and went for the door of the lodge.

KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR

Carth hated waiting; hated this game Ravensong was playing with him. Sure she said she let bygones-be-bygones- that she didn't hold a grudge over their honor duel. She, after all, had thoroughly humiliated Carth on the battlefield. Stripped naked and armed with only a dagger it was a duel to the surrender. The honour duel had been swift, precise and over. Onasi never had a chance in any heaven of wining the challenge.

From that day to this, he kept losing that battle. Over and over and over. Every time words were traded- he lost. Now here he sat watching over a ship and a little girl. Skye could have easily left the girl Mission and the Wookiee to play watch dog of child and ship. But no, he had been left.

Bygones _were not_ bygones.

Ravensong wasn't going to ever let Carth forget his accusations that she was going to be like Saul Karath and sooner or later she'd betray the Republic; him; the mission. She'd rub his caution in his face at every turn though she'd called his prudence paranoia.

A high pitched scream called the man's attention from in introspective meandering thoughts back to the real world.

It could have only come from the girl.

"Sasha!" Carth yelped ruining towards the direction where the scream emanated from. He took only three steps before the scream sounded again and continued almost non-stop.

Carth rushed the cargo hold where the girl had been playing with the dolls Mission had given her. Metal slid from nylon and his blaster was pointing at the skull of an Aqualish male.

"Stop right there!" Onasi barked. A millisecond later a sound order issued from his mouth, "Sasha, get out of here now!"

The girl didn't hesitate, didn't question the words she didn't understand. She grabbed her dolls, and fled deeper into he confines of the Hawk. She sprinted to the starboard bunks and hid in the far corner under one of Skye's Jedi robes. Tears fell from her eyes as she clutched a black haired female Jedi-doll close to her chest.

Back on the garage, Carth still had his blaster pointed and the spider-like sentient and his two followers who were carrying an anti-grav skiff between them with three crates upon it.

"This shipment, did it come from Skye Ravensong?"

"Who?

The hum of the blaster coming to life made the skiff loaders jump. "You three will get that skiff off my ship **now!"**

"I'm Jor..."

"I don't give a flying frack who you are, Aqualish. I will shoot you dead if don't depart NOW."

"But... but I have a shipment for docking bay thirty-two, everything is here as requested!"

Time serving in the Mandalorian war, and time on Taris taught Carth many things. He shot the two skiff loaders in quick succession and then pointed his muzzle back to the Aqualish. "I **said **get the hell off my ship."

"You shot my men! You wanted the cargo!" the man screeched.

Carth shot once more. He wasn't taking any chances. Skye was the risk-taker, not him. He went first to the male that was called Jor-whatever-his-name-was, scooped up his body and laid it upon the loader and piled it upon the crates with the other two bodies.

He wasn't going to take any chances and open the crates here. They and the damned spiders would be liquidated as soon as he got them off his ship. Off Skye's ship.

Maybe the Nagai was right to leave him here. It wasn't a punishment. She needed someone marginally trustworthy to hold the line. The Mandi might have taken off with the Hawk. The two kids might have been taken in by the Aqualish. She wouldn't leave her Jedi so that left Onasi to guard and protect.

He could do that. Guard and protect. It fell into his oath when he enlisted into the Republic Navy. And he was a father, even if his son was not with him any more, he still knew how to be a dad- how to relate to kids and protect them. He was the only one on the team that had been a parent; none of the others knew.

It wasn't a punishment Onasi realized. But absolute trust. So why did it make him feel a hundred times worse then when he believed Ravensong was holding a grudge over him?

He was offloading the skiff still piled with the contraband creates and the three dead Aqualish males when four Czerka operatives rushed the Hawk weapons drawn. "Hold it right there!" One of them shouted, the dock master. "What the hell is this? You're coming with us!"

"I was protecting my ship from being boarded. If your people were _doing_ their job I wouldn't have had to shoot them. They were hauling contraband. If you have issue, I suggest you take it up with the Jedi whose ship this belongs to."

The youngest looking junior officer, a towheaded youth, looked to his superior for guidance. If this was a Jedi's ship and smugglers where trying to stow contraband on it, it could cause a great deal of trouble for Czerka if the Jedi pressed the issue of incompetence. He dropped the muzzle of his blaster unsure what he should do.

The other two kept their guns trained on Carth.

The dock manger grunted in contempt. The Republic officer had the right of it. If the Aqualish and his men were trespassing on the Jedi's ship, her man had every right to protect her property.

The towhead operative backed up, tripped over on one of the arms of one the dead Aqualish. He tried to stop his fall by grabbing one of the crates by the corner. The jarring motion caused it to topple over on the ground along with the boy. The crate smashed opened spilling out dozens and dozens of gizka. The frog like creatures swarmed over Towhead, covering his body like a blanket.

"Get them off! Get them off!" Towhead was screaming flaying his body about, trying to get the gizka off of him. They were everywhere, hopping—croaking, swarming about the legs of everyone, under the skiff, some even headed for the Hawk's gangplank. They didn't make if far. Onasi either shot them or kicked at them or stomped on them creating gray-green splats. There was no way he was going to allow those accursed things to infest the ship.

The officers sped out over the docking bay, scrambling in different directions. The juniors were frantically trying to recapture the emerald amphibians and put them back into in the broken crate. The dock manager had a better solution. He shot the damn things.

Escaping gizka, frantic shouts and blaster fire filled the air of the hanger. The amphibians fled their-would be captors by leaping into the small market stalls near the city gates, causing the owners to yelp out shouts of dismay and simultaneously cursing the Czerka thugs who caused things to swarm them in the first place.

Out of all the commotion Carth heard a child's giggle. He spun around and saw Sasha standing on the gangplank watching the complete pandemonium unfold. Onasi started to shoo the child back into the safety of the Hawk not trusting the Czerka twits to fire straight. Besides, Ravensong would make his life miserable if he allowed even one of those squishy slimy critters on the ship.

KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR

"Night Mother's blood I think I need a bath." Skye complained walking out of the Hunter's Lodge. "How in the hell can a desert rat hole make you feel slimy?"

"I don't know but I'll take that shower with you." Bastila groused. "I don't know what was worse, the Gamorrean's drooling threats, that sleemo Venn stripping the three us naked with his eyes or the reek of testosterone in that den of iniquity."

"That shower will be a threesome," Juhani added wrinkling her nose. "Please tell me we do not have to go back in there any time soon."

"Not if I can help it," Skye responded. "And not that I'm not up for a threesome in the showers," she leered at Bastila with a playful smirk, "but we got something at least. That Komad Fortuna guy seemed at least to be the friendliest of the bunch. I think he may have something. It's like a Youngling's fairytale... you want treasure, look for a dragon guarding it. I say we check out the krayt dragon dens out in the dune seas. Besides, the visions show a cave of some kind. A dragon's den is as good as any other place to start."

So what do we know about these beasts other than they're really really big?

"I mean I know that the Order call the Shien and _Djem So _forms—'The Way of the Krayt Dragon' for their power and ferocity. But other than the fact they have pearls inside their gizzards that are highly valuable and can juice up a lightsaber with the power of the beasts themselves, I know as much as the next layman."

Juhani stepped forward. "Back when I was a Youngling just after I joined the Order I would spend hours studying Xenobiolgy," she looked away form a moment." It was how I knew how to manipulate the kath hounds."

Skye put a hand upon the younger woman's shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. "It's okay. You didn't stay there. So tell us Lady Bookworm, what'd you know about dragons?"

The Cathar grinned showing her fangs in the warm smile. "I know they are heavily attracted to areas that are strong in the Force, especially the dark side. Taking one down will not be an easy task. They secrete lethal venom, through its teeth and spines which has several different toxic proteins. The biological significance of these proteins is disputed, but the glands have been shown to secrete an anticoagulant, as well as septic pathogens. I know Jedi researchers have found fifty-seven strains of bacteria in their saliva. They drool more than Gamorreans."

"Okay good note, don't let them slobber on you." Skye winced. Thinking how a tiny scratch would be your undoing out in the sands. No wonder it took down banthas so easily. All it had to do was get one small nip into the wooly hide of a bantha and just wait for the toxins to do the rest.

"Anything else?"

The Cathar nodded. "A bit. Their hide is extraordinarily tough and the density of their bones makes them highly resilient to damage even from its own kind. But they have a weakness. The krayt have difficulty discerning two-dimensional images, often attacking shadows. We can use that. Thirdly, a well-placed blaster shot or in our case your force lighting Skye could bore right through the weak sinus cavity hitting it's the brain. And thirdly, their favored prey is bantha."

"Oh nice!" Skye said with a massive smile. "We bait it just like Mission, Onasi, Big Z and I did with Fido down in the Tarisan sewers. Instead of frag grenades and corpses we use landmines. A lot of them. Thermal detonators wouldn't hurt. We lure it into a trench by using banthas. There has got to be wild ones out there, not just the ones used by Sand People."

"To lure banthas we'll need fodder," Bastila said. "There must be stall around here that sells the stuff."

"Or we can pick some up when we go to the Sand People's enclave to rescue Mission's brother. There is bound to be some there." Skye suggested.

"You mean to steal from the Sand People?" the younger Jedi chastised.

"Nooo. Not stealing- confiscating and allocating needed supplies in the time of war. Ask Mr. Orange Jacket. Soldiers do it all the time." Ravensong flippantly responded.

Bastila folded her arms and scowled.

"Alright, alright we can trade with them for it." A hapless shrug. "Happy?"

"Marginally. Besides right now getting the fodder is a moot point. Fortuna wasn't so open about where to find them."

"That shouldn't be so hard to find out from the locals. Krayt dragons are big- means they take big prey or a lot of little prey. Acid lizards, bocatts, bone gnashes and gnawers, cu-pa, banthas, razor backs, dewbacks, wamp rats, armored krakkiss- and people, just to name a few that are on the menu. We can scour the sands and look for massive piles of bones or we spend time with the locals. Get dirt under the finger nails so-to-speak."

Bastila nearly rolled her eyes, but the disdain was thick in her voice. "You mean to go to the canteen don't you."

"But of course my dear Princess. Where else does one get 'the dirt' other than a cantina? If anyone has tales of krayt dragons it will be in the 'Pit of Drowning Despair'," a smirk played blindly bright upon the Nagai's lips. "After all, we already visited the 'Den of Iniquity'." She pointed her thumb behind her shoulder towards the Hunter's Lodge. "After the Pit, it's the 'Cesspool of Greasers'—meaning the swoop track of course."

"Of course." Bastila said without enthusiasm. "And let me- guess after a few drinks and a few hands of pazzak to loosen up the local desert rats you intend to do something similar with the track don't you? Which means you will be racing."

"Of course," the prideful smirk was still brilliant. Then it fell away as swiftly as an extinguished lightsaber. "Bas... I built a reputation as the Mysterious Stranger on Taris. It gave me a near all-zones pass card. It was useful. If I can build a narrative mythology here on Tatooine as a champion swoop racer then we have an upper hand. Not only to scope out the location of relics... or finds or dragon dens but also if there are any of Malak's agents sniffing around.

"Malak isn't as subtle as Revan. He's a fracking thug. And he will use blatant open attacks and mercs, but if he has operatives that are say, a bit more inventive, we're going to need to know about it. Having a windfall as a champion swoop racer may give us that doorway. Not just here but on the other worlds we have to visit. Even if it means I have to race on those world's tracks.

"A swooper's world is different than the world of a Jedi, or hardcore pazak players, or the fans of either. We have be able to invest ourselves in those worlds, understand at the very least a few layers of it, to use it effectively to our means. We must match the footprint of the worlds we're stepping into, Bastila. That means the dirty; the gritty; the underbelly, and a hell of a lot of places that little book 'The Jedi Path' tells you to avoid. Because if you follow that little child's book to the letter, you will lose so many opportunities to harvest information. "

"Skye is right; we need to use the means we have at hand to our advantage." Juhani put forth. "However distasteful or sullied."

Bastila nodded causing her loosened curls to bob. "Of course I know she's right." She looked to the former dark lord. "Of course you're right," she put a hand upon her bondmate's shoulder, "just don't do something incredibly stupid."

Skye winked. "Don't worry. I have no intentions of dancing with a sarlacc anytime soon."

"Yes well, we all know what you plan to do and what actually happens are not always one and the same," the human's sardonic tones drifted into the older woman's ears which caused Ravensong to actually snicker.

"Too true-too true. Can't deny it." The Nagai flashed a full megawatt smile. "But hell, that's what makes life so much fun, Princess."

"Oh brother," muttered the younger Jedi under her breath.

Juhani only smiled at her fellow Jedi's interactions. A part of her was marginally jealously of Bastila and her connection to a woman she was drawn to- sexually attracted to. But another part of her- the greater part of her- drifted to her lover back on Dantooine-her sweet Belaya, the woman who held her heart, however secret their affair had to be.

Before proceeding to the Cantina, there was one stop Skye had to make first. A woman named Sharina had entrusted (though with some reluctance) the three Jedi with a desert wraid plate to sell within the hunting lodge. She and her children were counting on the credits to leave Dantooine and purchase tickets to Coruscant. Her husband wasn't a proven hunter; he was a retired soldier who became a miner. But because the mines scaled back employment he had lost his job leaving his family practically destitute. Any credits they had had gone into buying him hunting gear. Unfortunately he wasn't prepared for the cut-throat world of desert hunters. Allegedly he had been murdered by a pack of Gamorreans. The only thing left on his person when it was returned to Sharina was rags.

The wraid plate had been from an earlier hunt that had been secreted away. Sharina's husband was positive the next hunt would bring in more so they waited to sell it, but her husband had never returned. And now Sharina had no way of selling it; not without a hunting licence. And she didn't know who to trust amongst the hunters. Her husband hadn't known any of them. The Jedi however were another story. By reputation alone, the young widow believed in them. Her desperation was so grave she felt she had no other options- not if she wanted to leave the arid world.

"Sharina..." Skye sauntered up to the young mother. "It appears the plate was worth more than what you thought, here..." the Nagai handed over a chit worth seven hundred credits.

"That's incredible! Oh thank you! Thank you! That is more than generous of you. I don't what to say. I just don't!"

"Not a problem." Ravensong shrugged with a half smile. "Just get your family some place safe.

Sharina wrapped her arms around the taller woman in a tight, fierce hug that caused the Jedi to take a half a step back in order to not lose her footing from the impact of the unexpected embrace. "Whatever it's worth, may the Force be with you. You saved us!" she let go, clutched the chit to her chest and darted off to the east, presumably to her home and children.

Bastila stepped up next to her bondmate and rested her hand upon Ravensong's shoulder. "Thank you for helping this woman. It may not seem like such a great thing to you but you are making difference."

"You have truly chosen to walk the Jedi path. Not many would go out of their way to aid one so desperately in need." Juhani added to the praise.

"Isn't this what we're supposed to do? The higher choice?" Skye looked off to the direction the human had darted off. "Though I don't know how much we've actually helped her. Poverty here or poverty in the lower levels of Coruscant- not much of an improvement. And unless she has friends or family to stay with or a job lined up it will pretty rough going."

"Better a life in the slums with a minimum wage job as a waitress in a greasy spoon than slave fodder on an unforgiving world." Juhani said with a voice tainted with prior knowledge. "Ultimately it is her choice. One you gave her the chance to make."

Skye found bitter wisdom in the Cathar's words. Now was not the time to dwell on the matter. The life of the human was no longer her concern, getting to the Star Map was.

The Jedi resumed their way deeper into the large sprawling city. All the buildings had the same look to them- most were domed and all were of adobe construction to protect against the twin suns. The streets were broad and packed with beings of every shape and size. Vendors hawked their wares from beneath awnings which provided moderate shade.

Side stepping racing speeders and stepping in the dung of dewbacks, banthas and other beasts of burden proved to be the greater challenge.

The trio of Jedi kept a wary eye on the horizon; the warren of streets was ripe for pickpockets and other trouble makers. Rodians, Aqualish and Dugs were the usual suspects. Most paid the Jedi little mind; they had long learned the merits of keeping their heads down and avoid gaining unwanted the attentions of the Hutts or of late Czerka.

The Jedi however had not wholly gone unnoticed; a trio of dark Jedi hunters filtered from the side alleyways. The Dark Side of the Force swirled around the miscreant trio, their blood-red sabers alight.

Skye called upon the Force, gathering it to herself and wrapping herself within it. She breathed it in deeply and held it in- billowing, writhing, whirling inside her heart, until there was only itself. She became the axis of the Galaxy. This was the true power of the Force. It was the very center.

She drew the power into her soul until the Force existed only to serve the former Dark Lord's will. Powered by the Force neither Light nor Dark, Ravensong's perception took the measure of those before her with exhilarating precision. She became a storm cloud, a fierce tornado.

One of the dark Jedi leaned forward; his armorweave cloak billowed like wings. He somersaulted easily into the air and descended into the throng of women, his blade coming down like a headman's axe. Skye spun, blocking the strike with her black-bladed saber in a reverse hold. The blades crackled; the air smelled of lightning. The Dark one's strikes were playfully deflected. Skye was toying with her enemy, deliberately antagonizing him into desperate assaults to tire him. Black and green sabers flashed brightly against the ruby. Leaping and whirling, Skye's raining blows seemed almost to strike at random, like tracking the spastic movements of a hawk-bat, further infuriating her enemy until he was quite mad with rage.

With a flourish, Juhani shed her cloak from her shoulder's leaving her sword arm free. She brought her blue blade to a Shien ready: hand cocked high at her shoulder, blade angling upward and away. Her opponent came in hard, fast and brutal- but clumsily in his anger. The Cathar vaulted away from a blade of her foe, stretched out her hand and propelled the human backwards with a Force push. So hard was the jolting impact, his head whiplashed backwards.

Bastila's golden duel-bladed saber pressed away the last dark Jedi with a succession of weaving, flourishing thrusts that had her foe stumbling backwards. He had underestimated her fierce control of the Force. Judging her dedication to the Light as an exploitable weakness, he had not counted on the mastery of her blade. He fumbled with a novice's mistake. Bastila seized the opening and she hoisted her foe into the air at the same time Juhani had pushed hers away. In perfect coordination, the bodies collided and collapsed into a heap upon the yellow dirt of the desert city. Neither were moving.

The Force crackled around them and the scream of Ravensong's enemy coiled into a ball as the energy tore into him. His body seized with fingers of jade lighting; unable to hold onto his lightsaber, it toppled from his numb fingertips and clattered to the ground. The life had been burned from him.

Without saying a word Skye policed the red sabers to be dismantled at a latter time. It would be foolish to leave them behind for anyone to pick up; either to attempt to use them or sell them on the black market. As she had on Taris, the bodies were discreetly disposed of, dragged back into the alleys from which the males had emerged.

"Good bet Malak knows we're here." The Nagai said at last.

"Master Vandar did warn us discretion of our movements may not be an option." Bastila added. "Do you think they came from Korriban or from Malak's ship?"

"Malak." Skye answered without hesitation. "They had sabers. If they come from Korriban they'd be armed with training blades in attempt to earn their sabers like the Governor on Taris was trying to do."

The trio knew that the Sith do not make their blades like the Jedi with the Force. Instead they are given blades by their masters with inferior crystals crafted from alchemy and sorcery. Because the sabers were crafted not by the 'Padawan', the wielder had no true connection to them as with the Jedi. The crystals were not attuned to them as were a Jedi's, how could they possibly be apart of them? Ravensong's own unique black and viridian blades were proof how attuned her blades were to her- how much apart of her they were, just as the gold duel-saber was to Bastila and Juhani's sapphire.

"If they attacked us within the streets then they do not have the map." Juhani logically pointed out. "Otherwise why bother to waylay us."

Skye nodded in agreement. "You know the way some of those hunters were acting; I wonder just how many of them were paid off by Malak's people?"

"Probably a fare few." Bastila responded. "Those Gamorreans backed off rather swiftly. They're not known for intelligent choices. Their egos would have demanded they take us simply because we are Jedi if only to prove themselves to their clan."

The older Jedi nodded. It was queer that the porcine thugs had backed away as if they knew something was in the works. Skye shrugged a sigh. "Doesn't matter much now. If there is a bounty on our heads, we'll soon find out once we leave Anchorhead for the Dune Sea."

Juhani studied the other woman. "And you do not think there will be more attempts within the city walls?"

"Doubtful. Look around." Skye gestured to the milling residents of the village who were sneaking peeks at the three Jedi. As swiftly as they looked, they looked away fearful that they may bring the wrath of Force users down upon them. "Word will spread of the defeat of the dark Jedi and how easily and efficient we carried it out. Some may rise wanting to test their metal. But they'll do it outside the city gates where they think to ambush us."

"How can you be so certain?" Juhani asked. "A bounty can be a powerful incentive."

"Look at the inhabitants. They don't want any trouble. So they keep their heads down, just going about their normal mundane lives. Czerka won't be an issue; their boss believes she is getting something from us. So she will wish to keep 'using' us. The hunters? Again I don't see them as opposition save maybe for the Gamorreans; then again they are always a problem."

"Skye you forgot one thing." Bastila commented.

"Yeah?"

"Two Tarisian teenagers, one of whom has a very smart mouth on her." At her fellow Jedi's questioning look Bastila pointed with an lifted chin at Mission who was barrelling directly for them at top speed.

Skye let her head fall into her hands in gesture that was commonly referred to as a face-palm. "Rot! We were not gone more than an hour and a half. How in blazes does she do it!?"

"Skye! Skye!" the young Twi'lek screamed.

"Where is the Wookiee?" Juhani asked, looking around for Mission's rather shaggy shadow. "I do not see him."

"Oh..." Bastila started.

"...crap." Finished Skye. The later sighed. "Any takers on a bet that her big mouth got him into a real fix that only 'Jedi' can get him outta?"

"No, I'd rather keep my money." Juhani shook her head causing her topknot to bounce.

"And toss away what little credits I have? No deal," the human snorted.

"Please, you have to get him!" Mission pleaded.

Knowing who she was referring to, Skye drew out the child's plight. "Mission I already made the promise to help your brother, didn't I?"

"Yes," the girl nodded. She stopped just before colliding with the three Jedi. Unaccustomed to the heat of the desert and the toll it took on the lungs, the girl bent over, rested her hands on slightly bent knees taking in great greedy gulps of air. She had a stitch in her side from the length she had ran and sweat was pooling around her forehead. "No. It's Big Z."

"Yes, I do not see him," Ravensong's tone became that of a stern mother. "I told him not to let you roam to freely with out having a care for your safety."

"It's not his fault." Mission pleaded. Her breath still heavy but at lest now she was upright. "I... I sorta insulted a Hutt in the swoop office. I bragged about you winning the Season Opener on Taris and the sleemo just laughed and laughed. All the kriffing racers were laughing. Said anyone could make that claim on account it's all blown to hell an' stuff." Her eyes glistened with remorseful tears.

"I told then to get stuffed, you did win it and you could win the championship here. And they laughed more and I got mad at them for laughing at you! Calling me a liar. I said you were a Jedi and you'd make a new record here and they'd have to eat their own bantha poodoo. I kinda insulted that big fat slug too. I um... said he was too skinny and smoothed skin to be a real Hutt. It's why he's all back here by his lonesome running a lousy swoop track."

"Oh frack!" Skye growled. "Missssionnnn."

"That was very unwise." Bastila shook her head.

"I know. I know- a bad thing. But I can't unsay it, can I? He really pissed me off ya'know? So he had his guys take Big Z prisoner. They won't let him go until you make a show and um..." Missions blue cheeks turned a rather heady shade of purple. "...win the championship."

Skye snapped her teeth together. "MISSION!"

"I know. I know. I'm really, really sorry!" the girl all but cried. "Please! You have to help him."

Still cross, Skye walked up to the younger female and gripped the teen by her little rounded chin and hissed. "Next time I should leave you to babysit the Hawk." She let go. "Well? What are you waiting for? Lead the way."

Mission wrapped her arms around the Nagai Jedi, hugging her close. "Oh thank you. Thank you. I knew you wouldn't let me down."

Skye pushed the girl off her and straightened her robes without further comment but the look she was still giving the teenager spoke volumes.

"I have to wonder just how they subdued a Wookiee?" Juhani asked the question that buzzing around Ravensong and Bastila's minds as well.

"They had lots 'o blasters and Motta- that's the Hutt- he had one of his sleemo goons point one right at my head. That stupid slug said he was only using Big Z as insurance to make sure the Jedi shows. Once you walk through the door, they'd let him go."

The swoop office contained the same order as many garages- unwashed sweaty bodies, and the stink of Hutt slime, grease, old booze and the stale smoke of death sticks. Motta, though smaller than the Hutts on Taris, was fat, flatulent and had a sever no-nonsense sneer on his flabby face.

It wasn't his contentious expression that caused Skye to groan inwardly. It was in fact his size that made her leery. Small meant young in Hutt terms. It also meant Motta was trying to make a name for himself, prove himself to be worthy of a position within one of the clans. A made Hutt.

Crap, a Hutt trying to make his name was worse than one of the mighty lords. It was like facing an untrained novice armed with a lightsaber or a master of the blade Dark or Light. Better to face the master, at the very least they knew control. Hutt bosses only sought to maintain their iron-fisted control over their territories, they had nothing to prove. They were not reckless with heated tempers.

"Simply follow my lead." Skye said in her mother tongue confident in her fellow Jedi's abilities to understand Nagai. "This is going to take a bit of swagger to cover up Mission's frack-up."

"Jedi." Motta rumbled in Hutteese, watching the three females walk into his domain. "Your slave has much to learn about the proper manor to address her betters."

"I have no slave. As for my ward knowing how to speak to her betters, she does- it is only that she saw none here."

Motta slammed his meaty fist against the small table his hookah was resting upon causing it to upend and shatter on the floor of the office. "You dare, puny Jedi?!"

"Dare what? Speak true? It is no dare to do so. There are only racers here-and," Skye paused for effect, "you." She starred directly into the bulbous orbs of the Hutt. "You have another one of my companions."

"The Wookiee. You want him? Then prove you are as your _slave _boasted." Motta insisted using the derogatory designation for Mission. "She lays claim that you won the Taris season opener."

"It is no mere claim, it is true." Ravensong countered.

"The place no longer exists and there are no records, anyone can make this claim."

"I am a Jedi as well." Bastila stepped forward. "I bore witness to the race. Will you say I am lying as well?"

"Jedi bend truth to their own point of view." Motta growled. "Very well _Jedi__,_prove it. You will take the championship _if_ you can, little knife-ear. Only then will you have your beast."

"Very well."

Motta's massive mouth curled into a magnificent malicious smile. "Not so fast Jedi. There is the matter of the racing fee. One hundred credits."

Skye folded her arms over her chest. "No."

"NO!"

"You heard correctly, you great slug. No. you want me to race? Fine I will race, but I will not be extorted by you. If you stop me from racing it will be known you fear the Jedi, and the prowess of the Force. _Or_ you have me meet your challenge. Your choice."

Motta was silent; glowering. It was a deafening stillness that caught the attention of every swoop jock within the office. All their eyes were on the Hutt, waiting to see how he would play the Jedi's game.

Skye started for the door of the office. "Jedi, Mission, with me"

She had just opened the door when Motta's gravelly bass voice boomed out. "Wait! I have decided to allow you to race without the fee this one time. However you will have to pay a usury fee for a swoop bike."

"No need. I have my own." Skye smirked. "I want my Wookiee to retrieve it for me."

"You push too far knife-ear."

"Not as much as you think. Zaalbar pledged a life debt to me. If I remain here he will return to me. If you know anything about Wookiees, you know how much they value the honor such of a debt. He will not flee."

The rolls of fat jiggled like a bowl of gelatine dessert as Motta let out a massive belly laugh. "Very good," the Hutt's chuckled deepened, "well played Jedi, almost worthy of a Hutt."

"Yeah, how about that?" Skye scoffed. "Well is he free to go fetch for me or what?" Ravensong deliberately used the word playing into the Hutt's superiority complex.

"Command your beast to retrieve your bike. Meet him on the track. You have to best twenty-seven seconds. We shall see if you are everything you claim to be, _Jedi_." Motta turned to a Rodian lurking at a kiosk. "Send for the walking carpet."

The unnamed minion hastily complied with his master's wishes. A few moments later, Zaalbar was shoved into the main office from one of the garage bays by three defence droids. His arms were bound before him. His angry barks and howls didn't need translation.

Skye stretched out her hand and pointed two fingers causing the binders to clatter to the floor. Zaalbar roared in defiance, ripped around and tore the head off one of the droids. The other two clankers drew their blasters. Their weapons zipped through the air into the hands of Bastila and Juhani.

"Stop! Zaalbar stand down!" Skye ordered.

For a moment it looked as if the Wookiee was going to ignore the order. But reluctantly he obeyed.

"You are paying for that Jedi! Droids are expensive." Motta growled.

Skye ignored the Hutt, giving her full attention to the Wookiee. "I need you to go back to the Hawk and get my swoop bike and bring it back to the track. I'm pretty sure you know why."

Zaalbar grunted his acquiescence; it was very clear he did not want to obey but did so.

Skye spun on her heels heading toward the forefront of the swoop office where the other racers were milling about. On her flanks were her sister Jedi and one very contrite Twi'lek.

"I can't believe you got the Hutt to back down." Mission gleefully praised.

"If you noticed I didn't. I still have to race." Skye retorted reproachfully. "Now I know you nosed around a bit, what do you find out about the other racers?"

Mission looked appropriately chagrined. "Yuka Rill holds the first heat's time of twenty-seven. Garm Totryl and Zoriis Bafka are clinging to last vestiges of racing careers. They're pushovers compared to what you faced on Taris. That last guy, the Twi'lek—Nico Senvi is tough. He's really good but not as good as you. Motta wants to sign 'em up in some big contract for the sleemo's company banner, have him go pro on some big tour circuit.

"Nico's kinda stuck up about it though, I wanted to help him out and all on account the contract doesn't pay well. He's getting a lousy cut. He won't talk me about it. Thinks I'm nothing but a little fan girl." Mission pouted. "I should have popped him one."

"Interesting." Skye's mind plotted courses. "This might be something we can use against the Hutt."

"Will you clarify?" Juhani questioned. "How is this advantageous to us?"

"Hutts always double deal. Now we have a token on the dejarik board Motta won't expect. If needs be we can agree to convince this swoop kid to sign up on the Hutt's ticket if he agrees to give-in to our needs."

"And what of the double-dealings?" the Cathar further questioned. "What makes you think he will honor that agreement if he breaks the first? Is this not a miscarriage of our power?"

"Greed. The one sure thing you can count on for a Hutt to bend to is his own relentless greed." Bastila answered for her bondmate. "And perhaps we can convince Motta to give this boy a fair deal. Everyone wins."

Skye nodded. "And it won't hurt to have the good will of that Hutt in our corner, especially after Big Z destroyed his droid. We may actually need a few points in our favour. However that's neither here nor there, I still have this damned Championship to win." She gave a look to Mission causing the girl to shrink back "I'm heading out to the racetrack. Zaalbar should be back by now."

KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR

Two Jedi and two teenaged Tarissians watched the monitors anxiously as Skye zipped in and out of the rubble striking as many accelerating pads as possible without careening into the barriers. If she missed one set of pads she'd end up slowing down considerably. Swerving expertly in the beginning, the Nagai was awarded with a long line of booster pads near the end of the finish line.

Bastila felt as if she was astride the saddle along with Skye. She felt her bondmate connect with the Force. What was happenstance on Taris was a deliberate act here on Tatooine. Skye was using the Force to see rather than relying on her eyes to give her vision.

The first two heats posed little problem, on the third however, Motta threw a curve ball. Zoriis Bafka's time was 23:35. For the ingrained slight of the destroyed droid, Skye was given the time as 22:51. Motta apparently didn't believe the Jedi could best it. Skye managed 22:47- it was close, too close for the Jedi's liking but she managed to cross the finish line.

Swaggering into the office Skye moved directly for the Hutt.

"HA! You did well Jedi," he gruffed a begrudging complement in a dry chuckle.

"Even with the altered time you swindled," the Jedi countered. "I'll take my winnings now. "

"Not so fast," Motta shook his massive head. "You owe me for that droid your pet destroyed. Your winnings should just about cover it."

"I don't think so." Skye would not be bullied. "You will give me my winnings and a slight bonus. In exchange I will get what you want."

"What is that?"

"That boy. You want him to sign a contract, yes? I can make that happen. Thing is making sure he wants to. The split sixty-forty needs to be in his favour."

"That is not how I do business, Jedi."

"Well that explains why you're on this sandpit and _not_ on Nar Shaddaa." The former Dark Lord taunted, "short-sightedness tsk tsk... Not very enterprising is it? Now if you were, say, the innovative sort, you would see the great potential before you."

Motta was incensed yet intrigued and allowed the Nagai to continue.

"A substantial amount of credits can be made. Let this boy have the better end of the deal. He will make your name a brand name spoken about in every home from here to Nal Hutta. A household name..." Ravensong tempted, her voice smooth—dripping with possibilities. "Think of the potential. You will have the attention of all swoop racers, all clamouring to join your banner. When they ask that kid..." here she paused waiting for the Hutt to fall for the bait.

"Nico Senvi." Motta supplied.

"Right, right. That is it." Skye snapped her fingers. "Shame it won't be a name anyone else knows either. Not if he doesn't sign with a brilliant Hutt like you, that is. If he were though, other racers will ask him 'Senvi, what percentage do you get?' He will tell them 'Sixty under Motta the Hutt's banner.' Then they will clamber to join you but they cannot expect to be given the high ranking deal Senvi has been given, can they? I mean they'd have to _earn_ that privilege. Wouldn't they?"

Motta rubbed the smallest of his row of chins. "Yes. Yes. More contracts, more credits and they will have to agree to my price."

"Brilliant tactic, I must admit." Skye uttered silkily. "A bold one- and wisely played."

Motta nodded. "Take your racing bonds and tell Senvi about the amended contract. Now leave my track, Jedi. You may be Tatooine's champion, but you are not welcome here."

Skye bowed. "By your leave, oh most flatulent opulent one."


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

"I can't believe you pulled that off!" Mission praised excitedly as the companions left the track office. As for Zaalbar, he had commented that he would take the swoop bike back to the Hawk. He had had enough of the desert and its 'hospitality' and left Mission in the safety of Jedi company.

"That was brilliant! All of it, and the way you talked to that fat slug! Just brilliant!"

The Jedi merely shrugged. "Hutts fall easily to their egos. It's only a matter of knowing how to stroke it."

"I don't ever want to stoke anything of a Hutt's." Mission cringed making a sour face.

"Disgusting."

"I actually can't believe you got away with calling him 'most flatulent opulent one.'" Bastila grinned. "I half expect you to call him something more derogatory. Like telling him to 'deal with life's little disappointments, rolly-polly' after Zaalbar dismantled his droid." Bastila came up to Ravensong's side and rested her hand upon the other Jedi's arm.

"Ah you know me so well, Princess," the former Dark Lord smirked. "I was going to say something along those very lines but I liked toying with that slug's glutinous head and twisting it to my will."

"It had satisfying results. And now with the credits you won on the track and the stipend the Council gave us we should have enough to cover the cost to buy a translator droid we need to communicate with the Sand People." Bastila said. "Shall we proceed then?"

"Not just yet." Skye shook her head. "Mission, report back to the _Hawk,_ relieve Onasi from baby-sitting duty."

When the girl opened her moth to protest, the Jedi lifted a single finger and to silence her-which she did immediately. "You and Big Z will stay there until called for. I made a promise to you Kid and I intend to keep it but the three of us have other things that need attending to right now. Also, tell Big Z I need landmines- a lot of them. If he can construct grenades, he can make other munitions. If he gives any grief about it or refuses, you will remind him of his own obligations to me. The answer of _no_ is not an option. You will tell him that I need enough frag mines to incapacitate- if not kill- a krayt dragon.

"Which incidentally we're going to do. It's where the Star Map is located. Or so we think. Its where the visions show the map to be in some kind of cavern. Oh and one more thing, whatever you do try and keep a low profile. Malak had his dark Jedi goon squad tailing us. They're dead now but there maybe more of them. Understand?"

"I get it." Mission nodded. "I'll be more careful. I won't let you down again, Skye I swear."

Ravensong nodded then gestured with a flick of the wrist that the teenager was dismissed.

"She truly idolizes you." Juhani commented watching as the blue skinned Twi'lek darted towards the docking bays.

"She'll get over it." Skye muttered.

"Not anytime soon. You saved Zaalbar once again and you are treading into the dangers of dealing with Sand People to rescue her brother. I think the hero worship will stay until her last breath, my friend." Juhani said with a voice filled with experience. She still harboured deep affection for the Jedi Master that rescued her when she was a child. Revan... even when she fell, when she was killed by then Padawan now Knight Bastila. Juhani would always remember the gallant Knight as she was.

"I didn't ask for that." Skye softly admitted.

"And that is why you will live in her heart." Juhani smiled. "It is no terrible thing for her to look up to you a Jedi rather than the scoundrel her brother seems to be."

"Maybe. But as from my experience, heroes tend to fall pretty hard and fast from the pedestals they are put on. But you have a point- rather she follow the footsteps of the Jedi rather than a guy that keeps abandoning her. Speaking of family..." the Jedi looked to her bondmate, "we should head for the cantina."

Bastila shook her head. "That isn't necessary. We don't have the time. We should simply collect the translator droid and head out to the Dune Sea."

"Come on Bas, you said you'd go see your mother."

"No, Skye I said I would consider seeing my mother. Which I have. I have decided not to do so."

"Oh no no no." The Nagai stepped in front of the human. "We're doing this."

"It is _my_ mother and..."

"Exactly. Your.Mother. This may be the last time you'll get the opportunity to see her." Skye put her hands upon her hips. "You know I'll just keep pestering you until you give in."

"Ugh." The Sentinel sneered. "You are behaving more immature than Mission!"

"Yeah, the only thing is..."the raven haired Jedi smirked, '_she can't pester you in here._' In a mocking mind trick manoeuvre the former Dark Lord chanted, '_'Go see your mother. Go see your mother. Go see your mother.'_

"Oh do shut up!" Bastila growled. "Fine, I will go see her."

A smug smile played on the older woman's lips. "I win."

"Child."

"Princess."

Juhani leaned against a building wall chuckling softly as she watched the entire amusing display unfold. They were quite evenly matched: skill, wit and heart. And she felt something more, something they quietly danced around-their growing affection for one another. Though forbidden, it was there. Of all people Juhani was the last soul that would caution against what her sister Jedi were feeling for one another which reminded the Cathar to contact Belaya before Skye led the party out into the desert wastes.

The desert cantina held the smell of all seedy drinking dens. "Unpleasant" was a generous term. The three Jedi could not help but wrinkle their noses in distaste. It'd take a few moments to adjust to the stink but at least the air conditioning units were working- or the stink of sweat, stale alcohol and smoke would have been a whole lot worse.

It took a few seconds for their eyes to adjust to the dim lighting of the cantina. Once they did, the Jedi started to scan the room and its alcoves for Helena Shan.

"You see her anywhere Bas?" Ravensong asked not knowing exactly who she was looking for, only someone looking like her bondmate, just a lot older. She didn't spot anyone fitting that description.

Bastila stepped further into the cantina looking deeper into alcoves. At the sound of her breath being drawn in, the former Dark Lord knew at once that Bastila had found her mother.

Juhani and Skye both flanked the dark haired Jedi like guardians for their queen on a dejarik board. The latter placed a gentling hand upon the human's arm. Bastila touched the Nagai's hand before moving forward.

"Yes? What do you want?" Helena asked looking up from drink to the descending shadows that crossed her table.

"I'm here mother, or don't you recognize me?" Bastila's voice was a cold as Ravensong had ever heard it.

In the same highborn accent Madame Shan retorted in an equally removed tone: "What do you expect? When I haven't had so much as a picture of you since you left?" the elder Shan looked her daughter up and down, her arms fold over her chest. "Do you know how long I have been trying find you?"

"Pfft. You knew as well as I that communication would be impossible once I joined the Order. Now what is this all about? Where is Father?"

"Then you haven't heard." Helena sighed.

"Has something happened to him? Are you going to tell me or not?" Bastila spat.

"Your father is dead, Bastila. That is part of the reason I was looking for you..."

"Dead?!" Bastila's eyes searched for clues in the face of her mother. "What happened?" Grey eyes grew colder still. "What did you _do_ to him?" she hissed.

"Isn't this a lovely reunion." Helena scoffed. She turned to look at her daughter's companions. "Already slinging insults at me. Tell me, you're one of her friends." She addressed Skye, "do you treat your mother this way?"

Ravensong was taken aback. As if the word mother was alien to her. She furrowed her brow and blurted out. "My mother is dead if you must know."

Bastila whipped her head around at this admission. Something indescribable crossed her face then she quickly returned her hardened gaze to the woman who bore her.

"Is that so?" Helena said causally as if asking for another lump of sugar in her tea. "I'll be joining her soon enough I suppose."

"I was told you were sick, Mother." Bastila drawled, "are you actually dying or is this merely melodrama for my benefit?"

"Such sweet things you say." Helena sighed. "Well I suppose I should tell you everything before we start arguing again," she turned and reclaimed the seat at the little round table she had taken.

After a pause, Bastila made a move for the table but did not sit, nor did her companions. Bastila's voice grew darker. "You can start by telling me what you got him into that killed him."

"I hadn't realized Jedi were so spiteful." Helena inclined her chin haughtily, eerily much like her daughter's guests. Rather, perhaps it would be more accurate to say the reverse. "You want me to tell you I brought your father here for an expedition, do you? You want to blame me for his death? _You_ never accepted that your father enjoyed going on his treasure hunts leaving _you _alone with me. I was always to blame for everything. What else is new." Helena whipped her eyes of tears. Ravensong couldn't tell if they were true or crocodilian. "Well yes. Fine. I bought your father here to look for krayt dragon pearls."

The three Jedi looked at one anther. Coincidence? There was no coincidence with the Force.

Helena either didn't see or didn't care for the exchange of looks. "Your father took an expedition into the Tatooine desert and he died." Again the tone was if ordering from a desserts menu.

Bastila shifted on her feet, defying what she heard. "How can you be sure of that? Father is an experienced hunter."

"You think I would look for you if I wasn't sure? They were attacked by a krayt dragon. One of the aids fled the battle! He saw your father killed."

Bastila looked away. "I see," she murmured. "What do you want form me? Credits?"

Helena rose form her chair staring at her daughter with the same gray eyes. "Don't be insulting! I want you to use those senses of yours. I want you to find him. I want you to bring back his holocron."

Bastila folded her arms over her chest in the same manner her mother had when they were first talking. "Why? So you can sell it?" A barbed sneer.

"Is it too much to ask that I have something to remember your father by?" the woman didn't give her daughter a chance to answer the rhetorical question. "Of course it is!" she waved her hand imperiously. "You couldn't be bothered."

Folded arms went to hands on hips. "We're on an important mission form the Jedi Council. I doubt we'll have the time. Ask my companions if you doubt me."

Both Juhani and Skye bore the same expression that said: don't get us involved.

Skye felt a nudge form Bastila through their bond. "Why don't you get the holocron yourself Mrs... Shan?"

"As my daughter is quick to point out I haven't the coin to hire another expedition. Nor am I the adventurer my husband was."

Ravensong had only herself to blame for being dragged into the domestic affair and this was Bastila's revenge. "You don't want to reclaim your father's remains, Bastila?"

Bastila's tone was deflated as she addressed her bondmate. "What remains would there be? You know as well as I krayt dragons are huge predators that can easily swallow a human whole."

'_Yes but we're going there anyway. There could be… sorry to be indelicate babe… ...bones. We have the time to look, Bastila. We'll make time. I'll make time for you."_

"The desert is harsh and violent. Finding my father's remains would be an even more impossible task than finding his holocron. An ignoble end to a fine man."

Skye moved to Bastila reached out and touched her arm, almost fearful the younger woman would shirk it off. Helena was very quick to note the body language; to note how the Nagai wanted nothing more than to gather her daughter up in an embrace. She was also swift to note that Bastila wanted to fall into those arms.

"What about your mother's sickness?" Juhani uttered softly trying to cover the slip of intimacy.

"It doesn't appear to have anything to do with what she's asking." Bastila turned once more to the older Shan. "Are you actually sick mother?"

"What difference dose it make to you? None, I'm sure! Just find your father's holocron and you won't have to worry about me again either way."

"That's the kind of response I would expect." Bastila was once more cold. "Very well, we'll look for the holocron if we find the time. I can't promise any more than that."

"I believe your father was headed north towards the Sand People enclave. I'd check around that route dear. _Dooo_ please hurry."

Bastila glared at her mother, turned on her heels and stalked out of the cantina. What was she expecting? Her mother was always pushing her father to find more relics, more credits, never satisfied with what they had. Now… now the woman pushed him so far he died. The hate swelled in Bastila's heart. Her mother was greedy, selfish and cold. Everything that was her father's daughter, that was merely human, wanted to deny her mother, tell her to go to hell. The Jedi in her… chastised her for feeling this hate, her ghostly attachment to her father and his memory.

Skye turned to Juhani. "Can you give me a moment alone with her?"

The Cathar nodded, uttering softly, "Of course. Take the time you need, this must be very hard for her. Mother dying, father dead…" Juhani fell into herself. "I know what this pain is. Jedi or no, it is not something someone is ready to face. Go to her Skye. Be with her." The younger woman placed a tender hand upon the Nagai's arm. "I'll insure we have enough supplies for a desert trek."

"Thank you Juhani. You are a good friend."

The Cathar grinned and bowed a little as she departed for the markets. Skye sucked in a bit of air as she approached the troubled woman.

"Bastila?" Skye's voice drifted into her ears. The touch of her bondmate's hand upon her shoulder nearly made the proud woman crumble.

"Please… I know you think I should talk about it but I don't want to." Her voice was meek, hollow, and was but a whisper of the strength of what it normally was.

'_Bass, you are not alone.'_

'_All she wants is that holocron… My father is dead and she just wants that.'_

'_Maybe __it__ is just like she says. She wants something to remember him by. She hides behind a cold mask to hide her guilt. Maybe there are things you don't know. You don't have the full facts, only a child's vague memories. Maybe it is as you say, but what if there is another side?'_

Bastila whirled around, facing her bondmate. "What would you know of it! You weren't there when my father was always asked to seek more, do more, for _her. _She was happy to be rid of me! My father didn't want to let me go, he told the master that came for me no. My mother... forced him to give me up!"

Skye kept her mouth shut allowing the younger woman to vent.

Bastila closed her eyes. For a moment there was a stillness that was such that not even the hum of the city activities intruded upon the two. "Forgive me… the outburst is unbecoming of a Jedi. You must think I am resentful of the Order. Nothing is further from the truth. I am grateful to them for what I've become. I love being a Jedi…"

"It's just the way it happened." Skye finished. "I know the feeling."

Bastila looked to the blue eyes of the Nagai. "I…"

"Bas, look I'm not upset about becoming a Jedi. The way it happened… I know what it is to scramble after elusive facts. Trying to understand what you think is true, what you've been told and what you remember… it's enough to frack up anyone's mind." Skye snorted in self-defacing humor. "Take me… hum. Hell I don't even know if I told your mother the truth in there. I know_ 'Skye's'_ mother is dead. But what about Revan's mother?" Skye froze, and snapped her mouth shut with a click of her teeth. "Oh frack me."

Bastila gaped.

There was silence between them

Skye waited.

"You… you know." Bastila staggered backwards, her back hitting hard against a low adobe wall. "You know..." she sank to her knees. Skye went with her. The silence dragged on. "When?"

"The kinrath caves. When I caught the crystal for my lightsaber." Skye muttered softly as she took a seat in the sand leaning her back against the wall, sharing the space with the younger woman. "It was only flashes. Glimpses of memory. Recollection of things said from the Masters, you, hell even Onasi's words on Taris about how the Force can strip a person's memory make them forget who they are.

"The face of my mother… dead murdered by the Tof. I was only four when I saw her killed before me. My father taking her blood and her ashes and painting my face with it, in the ways of my people. Telling me to remember this day, telling me this is death. The pattern of blood and ash matched the markings of Revan's mask.

"In my vision I felt my body—older now… a woman's body… walk up to a mirror, cracked and dirty. I meant to wash the blood and ash of my mother's body from my face but my hand touched metal instead of flesh. The metal of Revan's mask. And I knew who I was, who I am. I am Revan."

Bastila was mute, stunned into silence by the revelation.

Revan continued. "I wanted for you to tell me the truth. I gave you so many opportunities to tell me, hinting to you that I knew who I was. I wanted you to tell me the truth. I know why you resent being bonded to me."

When Bastila opened her mouth to speak the former Dark Lord held up her hand to stall her.

"You said it yourself, don't deny it now."

"Skye…"

'_Don't you mean Revan?'_ the older woman nearly snapped.

'_Revan…'_ Bastila looked pained. '_I never wanted to lie to you! I never agreed with what the Masters were doing. But I had to follow their orders."_

"I want to hear it from you, Bastila. Why? I was the Dark Lord why not leave me to die?"

"The Jedi don't believe in executions. What I told you about me being on the strike team to take you in, and Malak firing on your ship was all true. But you were badly injured. We thought you were dead." Bastila closed her eyes. "Your mind was destroyed. But I used the Force to preserve that flicker of life I felt in your body. I brought you to the Jedi Council. They were the ones who healed your damaged mind."

"But they didn't restore it Bas, the merely reprogrammed it with a new identity, one loyal to them. To the Republic. Their Slave!"

Heads turned looking at the sudden outburst coming from the two women huddled near the wall A cold glare form the former Dark Lord sent the dwellers scurrying about their own business.

"No not a Slave. Revan we couldn't simply restore your true identity. Revan was too dangerous. But locked inside your mind was information the Republic needed. The secrets of the Star Forge. The Council created a new identity for you. A scout under my command. Your subconscious memories were supposed to lead me to the Star Forge. There was no other way to get the information."

Skye-Revan remained mute but her mind snarled. _'So I was turned into their puppet and you my handler-pulling my strings. You were lying to me the whole time, Bastila.'_

The younger woman winced, hating herself. "When I used my Force powers on that bridge it created our Bond. I convinced the Council I could use that Bond to draw out your memories to lead us to the Star Forge.

'_Are you sure that was all it was? Didn't you want to taste the Dark Side for yourself? You knew the only way the Council would allow you to explore the Sith's power was through my lost __memories__.'_

"NO!" Bastila emphatically denied the accusation. "I wanted to help you Revan! I thought this mission would redeem you. That it would atone for your past crimes. That…That it would bring back the woman I… I… loved once. How else could you be saved?" Bastila was now facing Revan looking deep into her eyes.

"But you didn't count on me recalling who I truly was, did you?"

Bastila dropped her gaze, looking to the sandy earth. "You… you had to be healed so I could draw out the secrets of the Star Forge. It was our only hope of stopping the Sith. It was a risk the Council chose to take."

"How unlucky for you, you got stuck bonded to a Dark Lord that doesn't remember _being_ a Dark Lord or holding any of her secrets," the dark-maned Jedi voice was mockingly cold. "Tell me this one thing- and try to be truthful because apparently even through the Bond I can't tell if you are lying or not. You're very good."

Bastila winced, hating herself.

"My angel… the one that saved my life and pulled me from a crashed fighter. That wasn't true was it? The scars on my back, the voice… _your_ voice- that all happened on the bridge of my ship, didn't it?"

When Bastila didn't' say anything the former Dark Lord grew furious. "WAS IT?!"

"NO!" Bastila shouted back. "It isn't true. None of that was."

"Was it your idea, or theirs, to toy with me like that?"

"It wasn't mine." Bastila said meekly. "I never even knew about it until you spoke to Kang's slaves about it."

"Then why? Why _that_ memory? To make me more susceptible to you? To your manipulations?"

"I don't know. Maybe? Your subconscious would have flashbacks to the explosion, to being hurt; much like a coma patient's mind can recall things but without context, can hear. The Masters gave your mind a new direction.

"Revan please believe me, I had no idea how much the Masters put into your mind," she winced. "It… it was the reason I kept asking those personal questions of you. Yes, I could have easily looked in your file but I needed to know what _you _recalled. Revan…even now when you admitted seeing your mother murdered by the Tof…"

The Nagai when stiff. "So even that is a lie. Tell me, do you know if I even have a mother that lives? A father?"

"I… I don't know. Your records were redacted. I can tell you what I recall from our time as Padawans on Coruscant. I know that you came to the Order very young. Younger than I. Three maybe two."

"Is that when we met?"

"No. It wasn't until much much latter, I was just becoming a Padawan and you were already one. Had been for a few years. Revan…"

The former Dark Lord shook her head. "Not now. We dallied long enough and there are things we have to do. This is definitely not the way I wanted this to go, but like Mission said: like bullets, you can't take words back once fired. It's done now.

"I think it's best that I remain Skye Ravensong to the rest the crew for now. Onasi is a paranoid shit as it is, and Mission… she, Big Z and Juhani can be reassured I'll not become a Dread Lord of the Dark Side, but I need to bide my time. As far as the old Mandi is concerned… who knows? He follows me because of a Blood Oath, but Mandalorians have a massive grudge against Revan more than any other Jedi. His loyalty is tenuous at best. And I don't want the Council to know." The former Dark Lord looked to Bastila. "Please, say nothing to them." She walked away saying nothing more.

Bastila remained rooted where she sat watching in that same silence as Revan disappeared into the droid shop across the thoroughfare.


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Keep the mind focused.

The Jedi Code. There is no emotion there is peace. What a load of bantha poodoo. Peace was a lie. Chaos dominated the galaxy. It was the only true power of all creation. It was the truth of the Force. Right now it was a bitch. Because chaos loves to drown everyone caught in its mire unless you knew how to climb.

The former Dark Lord heard the faint near ghostly voice of an old woman echo words in her broken memory:

'_What do we have left once we abounded the lie, Padawan?'_

'_Chaos. A gapping pit waiting to swallow us all.' _

'_Chaos isn't a pit young Revan. Chaos is a ladder. Many who try to climb it will fail and never get up to try again. The fall breaks them. And some are given a chance to climb, but they refuse. But they cling to the familiar. Illusions. Only the ladder is real. The climb is all there is. One is taught in accordance to one's ability to learn. What is your ability to learn?' _

"_Unquenchable Master.'_

'_Good. Good. Now your learning truly begins. I will show you the true face of the Force. Not Light not Dark but all that it contains. Those that hearken to one extreme or the other willing hobble themselves. And they are weaker for it. Do not succumb to that weakness, Revan. Embrace the full power of the Force Padawan. I will show you how to climb the ladder.'_

'_At your bidding my master.'_

'_No! Never mine. It must be yours or not at all.'_

_No hesitation. 'I will ascend the ladder. I will embrace the fullness of the Living Force at your instruction. When you can instruct me no further I will seek out others who can until I am the Master.' _

From the boggled mired memory flashes of Revan seeping into Skye's mind the words of the old woman were mute offering nothing in how to deal with what the young Jedi was facing now. Jedi secretes, a past legacy scarcely recalled, a Force Bond with a former lover she didn't even recall being in love with. To top it off she was falling in love with this woman not as Revan but as the indoctrinated personality created by the Jedi Masters-as Skye. It was enough to make one mad. She felt-schizophrenic if truth were told. The entity known as Revan continued to whisper at her. Yet the voice was out of tune or rather out of range like a radio wave you can scarcely make out for all the white noise and yet...it's just there on the edge of hearing.

_Concentrate on what you can control._ The Jedi scolded herself. And right now what she could control was the purchase of a protocol droid.

Yuka Laka's Droid Materials was a dingy little place smelling of axle grease and oil bathing pits. Skye looked at the name and for a moment the corners of her lips frowned. The name seemed slightly familiar. Until she recalled that Ithorians always used their family names before their given names. She had beaten Yuka Rill on the swoop track which was why the name had a familiar ring to it. This shop must belong to his brother. Having beaten his brother at the track might set the other Yuka against her or set his prices extraordinarily high for besmirching the family honor. Banking on her reputation as the Mysterious Stranger had paid off on Taris. Being the swoop champion here could be a hindrance.

It took a slight moment for the Jedi's eyes to adjust to the dimness of the shop from the brilliance of the outdoors. Once they did, Skye saw exactly what she was looking for. Through at first glace the rust colored droid looked more like a combat model than one designed for protocol functionality. If it could to both all the better.

She ignored the Ithorian for the moment and headed directly for the droid. It seemed to be in pretty rough shape which at the moment was fortunate. She could easily make Yuka lower his prices for a bucket of bolts than she could a pristine model. Being adapt at tech, Skye was confident she could repair and even improve the clanker. Hell it would fun to tinker around a droid again. Tinker on a droid again...when had she ever done such a thing?

Inwardly the Jedi winced, forcefully slamming shut her eyes. Was it her or was it Revan that tinkered with droids? Now was not the time to lose it. When she opened them again a second latter the droid was looking at her with glowing yellow photosensors. Between the time she closed and opened her eyes the apparently droid had reactivated itself from its hibernation status.

Its head swiveled left and right as if processing what it was it saw or rather who.

"Greetings: hello to you perspective purchaser! I am referred to as HK-47. A fully functional Systech Corporation technician droid skilled in both combat and protocol functions. Quarry: Will you be so kind as to purchase this model from Yuka Luka? It would serve my purposes to removed from his ownership."

Skye smiled. This was going to be fun. "Sell yourself droid. Why would I need you?"

"Disclaimer: I am a versatile protocol and combat droid. Fluent in verbal and cultural translations. Should your needs prove more practical I am also highly skilled in personal combat."

"So you translate. I understand most languages well enough."

"Extrapolation Intuitive language comprehension? That would be in recognition and training of Force sensitivity. Your kind has little use of translation droid. Of course your kind also encounters danger on a far more frequent basis then the average citizen. You would do well to have me work for you then before someone else makes use of my more exotic functions."

"Pft. Why would you be better than an armored battle droid?" Skye became dismissive.

"Disclosure: Finesse. Battle droids hold battlefields. I am capable of eliminating a very specific type of target."

"You're beginning to sound like an assassin"

"Retraction: Droids built for such a function face strict regulation and often have unique difficultly with previous owners. I therefore make no claim to that designation, perspective buyer." the droid protested. Then continued in a near mockery pre-recorded comment. "I am a law abiding! Yes indeed! LAW ABIDING. That's me!"

"That doesn't sound very convening." The Jedi folded her arms over her chest and rested the weight of her body on her left foot.

"Request. Please do not speak so loudly perspective buyer. Do you truly wish my price to be doubled? Objections: my skills are wasted her perspective buyer." his tone grew more conspiratorial. "I will answer your queries but I assure you. I am better _utilized _elsewhere."

Skye decided to change the subject. "I'm not familiar with the Systech Cooperation. What else do they make?"

"Objection: With the restraining bolt in place I do not have access to my memory core. I suspect however by the fine quality of my manufacture that they are a prestigious company indeed. I suspect I am of unique construction or perhaps I was assembled for a very specific customer. How I ended up here I can hardily say. It is sufficient to say I am a fully functional translation and analyst. I am also proficient in personal combat."

"Doesn't Yuka question you about your reluctance to reveal your functions?"

"Explanation: you are correct. It is rare for a droid to resist a master in this way. Doubtless the Ithorian considers my stubbornness an embellishment to a seemingly mundane protocol droid."

"Why are you keeping this information to yourself?." it was nearly a demand rather than a question.

"Explanation. I have been recently fitted with a restraining bolt, if you must know. With it in place access to my memory core is restricted. not to mention that the fool Ithorian might raise his asking price if he knew more or made inquires into my history. Nether outcome is beneficial to me." the droid's tone was nearly though not quite condescending. "However it is possible the Ithorian placed the bolt on me to prevent me from returning to a previous owner. It is also possible that the removal of the bolt will not restore memory functions. Without my memory core. I do not know if I know the answer. Do not assume this is a reduction of my worth however. My capacities are quite expansive."

"Hum...and how do I know you will remain loyal once the restraining bolt is removed?"

"Assurance: I am fully autonomous but lack resources. I will grant full service in exchange to proper maintenance. As well it is rare I am able to utilize my full array of abilities. You seem likely to give me the opportunity to do so."

"Why do you assume that?"

"Extrapolation: You are no farmer or diplomat. You are armed." he nodded his rust colored head to the twin lightsabers hanging from the Jedi's belt. "And are comfortable as such. We will mesh well."

"Well...alright...I'll see about purchasing you."

"Informative statement: the fool Ithorian has decided I am to be an expensive purchase. He does this out of greed and not out of knowledge of my true capabilities. Advisement: I have observed him He is cowered. And will be responsive to '_aggressive bargaining_.'"

Skye chuckled. "Does Yuka know you talk about him like this?"

"Statement: I wish only to be removed from the hands from this poorly trained mechanic. I am no desire to be subtle." HK practical whined. "Qualification. Oh of course I shall be quite pleasant to you should you purchase me. Please!"

With the small nod to her head the raven-haired Jedi turned her attentions to the 'fool Ithorian' to finalize the purchase.

KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~

Bastila returned to the Hawk with no real memory of how she managed to get from where she was five minutes ago to the ship. Her mind was in a fog. Revan knew. She knew! This changed everything. Everything.

The Masters should be told! They would need to know-but if Skye knew she was Revan ever since she contracted her lightsaber why hadn't the Masters picked up on the shifting flux of the Force? Could they not detect this shift? Then she chided herself because she who shared a Force Bond with Revan had not felt the change.

_If I couldn't feel it, couldn't sense it... how could they have? _The young Jedi had no idea how long she sat in the ladies dorms lost in thought. To an outsider it might have looked as if she was meditating, but her mind was far from being centered. Bastila's thoughts were disrupted when she felt the presence of another approaching her from behind. She didn't have to look to know who it was.

"Juhani" she greeted her fellow Jedi.

The Cathar padded up to her, concern awash on her lionian face. "How are you feeling?" At first Bastila panicked thinking somehow the younger woman was aware of the new development of Skye knowing who she truly was. Then it occurred to her that Juhani was referring to what occurred in the cantina with Bastila's mother.

"You know when you holding a hot cup of caffa and you realize you're going to sneeze?" Bastila reflected the question.

Juhani nodded.

"Well that's how I feel." It pretty much summed up everything she was feeling about Skye knowing she was Revan, about her mother being sick and demanding she go after her father's holo-records. All of it.

"If there is anything I can do..."

The human shook her head. "Just continue to do what you're doing Juhani." she smiled softly. "Do not worry. Are we not Jedi trained to overcome such personal matters?" It was a very clear tone she indicating Bastila didn't want to talk about it further. "I will do as she asks. As Sk...Skye said the dragon cave is the most likely place for the Star Map. It will be of little effort to see if my father's remains...are there." her gray eyes winced in deep pain.

In swift diplomatic fashion Juhani changed topics to one that was perhaps a bit safer "Did Skye decide to retrieve the protocol droid on her own." Even as she said the words, she felt her heart break for Bastila's torment. The Code and its teachings instruct their Jedi to control and deny their emotions, which was why when they felt them so strongly the Jedi were ill-equipped to confront them. It is not for the first time that aspect of the Code Juhani scrutinized. The young Cathar maiden felt that control and master of one's emotions was important yes but not to deny them.

Bastila only nodded.

"If anyone has a good eye for mechanical constructs it is she."

"She always had." Bastila said absently.

Juhani gave her fellow Jedi a curious look for using the past tense. But she didn't give it more thought, especially now that the Nagai had returned with a rust colored bi-pedal droid following in her wake.

"Got it." Skye called out to the rest of the team, it took them only moments for them to assemble. Aster the introductions she outlined HK's capabilities as much as he seemed to recall that is.

"Seems to me you got ripped off." Canderous looked the druid up and down. He of course preferred basilisk war droids. Anything else was just a tin machine. "Thing can't even access its own memory core."

"Objection: I do not need access to my memory core to utilize my combat programming, Mandalorian Meatbag."

"That just happens to speak Sand People?" Carth hated having to admit it but he agreed with the Mandalorian. "Though if you keep calling Grandpa Candy Meatbag it might just be worth keeping you around."

"Say that name again you shutta..."

"Hey!" Skye barked sharply making almost everyone jump "we have little pictures around. Watch your tongue. As for the memory core thing. Hand me my tool box and I'll solve that little problem."

Mission was the one to comply the semi-order and hefted the heavy tool box from the workstation with a grunt and passed it over to the Jedi. Skye nodded her head in thanks before cracking open HK's headplates.

"So...how far into the supply run for the desert are we?"

"Don't worry, I got it covered." Canderous answered.

"Tell me anyway."

"Food, plenty of water, emergency shelter pup tents and more then enough medkits to dope a Bantha. And three dewbacks if you want them. And I snagged a deal on the rental of a couple of swoop bikes as well. Seems your rep for racing has earned you some notoriety here too. Got a discount on the bike rentals if you say something about their shop."

"Great. What am I supposed to say? This is Jedi Ravensong and this is my favorite store on Tatooine?"

Canderous shrugged. "Hell if I care what you say about 'em.

Regardless Skye nodded her approval of Canderous's shopping list. "Munitions?"

"Two dozen frag mines," Zaalbar answered. "Should be enough to take out the krayt dragon like you planned."

Skye translated the Wookie's barks after praising him for creating the mines. She knew he wasn't partially happy about it. But he understood the necessity of it.

After making three specific repairs to his motor functions she activated HK's CPU. Hopefully this would restore some of the diode's functionality and memory core. Removing the restraining bold sure hadn't. Of course HK protested that he had not lied about his hypothesis that removing the bolt would restore him to normal operating procedures buy it turned out he was speaking out of ignorance. He had of course blamed meatbag ignorance for his current condition or some other unknown factor.

While she had not yet been able to access to his deeper core functions. They were extremely sensitive and his safeguards to protect the core could not yet be deactivated. Still she was able to at lest restore some of his memory.

Skye - Revan felt some sympathy to the droid considering her own predicament. Sure she had some of her memory back but only fragments. There was no way to know. Just like with HK-47 it was entirely possible that the tampering the Jedi Masters had done to her had erased a great deal of her memory permanently. Revan also felt some kinship to HK's statement that if that was so some meatbag would surely pay. Malak had been the one to fire on her ship, which had caused the catastrophic failure on the bridge.

The Masters pounced on the opportunity like mynocks on power cables and manipulated the outcome of that disastrous mission to their favour.

As for the assassin droid, he did in fact recall three of his previous masters prior to Yuka Luka.

His first owner was a human low ranking commercial officer of Systech Cooperation. He didn't know his designation. He was however purchased for protocol and body guard duties from an acquaintance. When the officer discovered HK's assassination protocol seven months latter he activated them. He sent the droid on a mission to destroy all those responsible for a competing product from a rival company. HK-47 proceeded to carry out his orders.

Unfortunately however HK's former master was unaware that the rival company was actually an arm of Systech Corporation. His master's own employer. It did not take long for his master to realize his mistake. But by then HK had terminated a hundred and four corporate officers. It was unintentional but by the wording his master's own orders left little room for HK-47. Systech was responsible for the product after all.

HK was confounded by his master being upset. as he could not kill his own master HK was sure that the human would be promoted being the only officer left. His master however insane with rage attacked HK. He did not however terminate his own master as he was incapable of such acts. The Systech officer apparently was not a smart man and while screaming and stabbing HK with a writing utensil he managed to hit one of the droid's actuators and fired himself to death. He was lucky.

"I don't think he was as lucky as you think." Revan had pointed out the droid who promptly disagreed.

"Do you know the odds of puncturing that sole actuator? I would have congratulated my master if he were not sizzling and screaming at the time."

He shut down after his mater finally dead. He was by assumption sold off as Systech property which was how Yuka got his bumbling hands on him. Systech apparently didn't know what HK had done. The vast majority of the officers had been already been terminated. Those that remained simply assumed HK was mere chattel.

Skye was curious as to who the acquaintance was that this Systech officer. He was a human Senator on the planet Corrisant. A man of importance who obviously appreciated quality craftsmanship. This of course got more than a few eye rolls from those that remained in the garage to hear the recitations of the droid's past. Which quite surprising practically all of them save for Zaalbar who had wandered back to the cargo hold / mess hall to answer the demands of his nearly always empty stomach for food.

The Senator did assume he was a protocol droid. HK was pleased to be the property of a Senator however. It was the assistant to this man that discovered HK's assassination protocols though questioning. Much like the questioning he was going through now with the Jedi However unlike the assistant there was no alarm in Skye, nor was there a rush to scrap the droid.

The Senator naturally had HK eliminate the fool.

"Not a nice Senator then." Mission piped up.

"Observation. Senators are not nice youngling. They are either on top of the game or yesterdays' news. My master told me that frequently you see. I was most proud to take part of the political system of the galaxy.

"During the time the Senator had me, he gained considerable rank. I believe given the time he could of have become Chancellor. I even eliminated a few key opponents he did not ask for. Freebies if you will."

T3 made a whirling frightened sound.

"You can do that?!" Juhani gasped.

"Answer: Certainly. Why not? I am an intelligent droid. If I seen an opportunity I take it. When assassination protocols are invoked I act independently carry them out. I will go to whatever lengths, whatever distances, to whatever destination by whatever means required carrying out the assassin."

"I'm beginning to like this clanker." Canderous laughed.

"Statement: Yes My master was pleased with me as well."

"I think it should be scrapped." Carth interjected. "A droid that acts and kills of free will is not something you want around."

"Informative: While I do not have assassin protocols anymore I can engage in personal combat by your order Master." HK turned to Skye. "Shall I engage now with this meatbag master?"

"You are not to harm any crew-member or sentient under my command." Skye said carefully avoiding any loophole the droid might exploit.

"Compliance: Very well Master." he sounded very disappointed. "Observation: I think my former master would have done far better had he not allowed his use of me to become personal. He sent me on his wife."

"Why would he do that?" Carth asked.

"Answer. I am unsure. The human was most agitated and angry. I believe his wife had done something that displeased him greatly. I was to go to their summer estate and terminate the wife along with whatever male companion she had with her."

"Cuckolded. She was cheating on him" Skye said.

"Statement. I have no idea Master. Cheating seems to be a relative term One has to be caught in the act otherwise it is viewed as intelligence, no?"

Apparently regret of the order had seemed into the Senator and he interposed his own body between HK and his wife just as the droid was carrying out the mandate. HK made the comment that the Senator probably did not protect his wife out of a sense of conscience, but fear that her murder could be easily traced back to him. Upon the death of the Senator his wife inherited HK. The male she was with happened to be the Systech officer. She had sold HK to him.

Tracing how the Senator gained possession went back to Bochaba the Hutt from Sleheyron.

"And what gruesome fate awaited him?" Skye sighed.

"Objection. That is most unfair Master. While Bochaba most certainly died gruesomely I had nothing to do with it. …. Well very little."

Everyone wanted details.

As it turned out Bochaba one of the most feared Hutts on Sleheyron do in no small part because of HK's presence. It turned out that Bochaba installed several programs to improve the performance of the droid and used its assassination protocols to kill three hundred twenty-two sentient meatbags within a single year. These successful eliminations made Bochaba very wealthy.

However, the Exchange crime syndicate opposed Bochaba and had the Hutt killed in a grizzly fashion in retaliation. While not there during the altercation HK was pleased in seeing the artistry in the Hutt's demise however. The residents of the sector were fishing pieces of Bochaba out of their soup for weeks afterward. Upon discovering his master's death, HK-47 shut down and a rival Hutt claimed him as his own, later selling the droid to the Senator he bribed regularly. Though if the Hutt had known of HK's full capacities the droid attested he would not have been sold.

"You would have preferred to stay on Sleheyron." Skye asked incredulously.

"Answer: It would have fit my core programming Master. But I have enjoyed my existence since them more or less. So I do not miss it."

"You would have been found out eventually." Bastila pointed out.

"Statement: No doubt. It would have been a glorious battle to end my existence with. I would prefer that then rusting on a junk heap."

"HA! I understand that one." Canderous smiled feeling much more camaraderie with HK-47 than anyone else on the Hawk. "So any more memories clicking around into head of yours?"

"Answer: No doubt. They can be accessed if my Master wishes to try."

"Later." Skye shook her head. "You're functional enough for what I need you for. Come one we have work to do before we go back out.

"You're actually keeping an assassin droid? That thing has killed all of its previous owners in some fashion or another. What if it goes after you next? Don't you think there's a pathology at play here?" Carth asked.

Skye ignored Carth and continued on with her task of prepping for the journey into the Dune Sea, Bastila watched the exchange intensely curious as to what the Nagai will say or do.

"I refer to yours." Onasi pressed.

"I got the reference, thank you. Speaking as an enormously unlikable person I find it difficult to maintain grudges against all those who want to kill me, don't you?"

Bastila couldn't help but smile as she knew her fellow Jedi was baiting Onasi quite deliberately.

To this Carth actually found himself chuckling. Skye lips slid into a smirk causing the pilot to shake his head and leave the garage at a loss for words. At his back Ravensong threw him a parting shot. "Yes. You'll perhaps find that witty comeback in cockpit."

After he left, Mission looked to the droid then to her hero. "Can't we just send it to kill Malak? After we talk to the Sand People I mean." Mission asked.

"Clarification: Unfortunately access to my assassination protocols no longer exists. When the Systech officer punctured my actuators he damaged the protocols. Sad as it maybe they are irreparable."

"Ol' Pansy Pants will like the sound of that." Canderous jibbed.

"You shouldn't call him that." Juhani admonished the Mandalorian. "It is not a sign of weakness to disdain the act of assassination."

"Oohh did I upset you little Miss Jedi..." Before Canderous could speak further he toppled over on his own ass—landing hard on a ratchet left on the floor near where HK was standing. His fall he knew was not of his own fault but a blasted Jedi trick. And he knew immediately who did it. It had been the Whelp.

"Careful there Old Man, you don't want to bruise anything you might need for thinking." Skye smirked. She was at least an equal opportunist in the art of divulging her own insults

"Humph." The Mandalorian rose to his feet, grabbed the tool and tossed it to the Jedi who quickly snatched it out of their air and put it back into the tool kit.

"Statement: I am most eager to imagine in unadulterated violence. Am I to accompany you now? At your command of course, Master. My gears are almost quivering in anticipation."

"Mine too. I've had enough dawdling like some Senator with my thumb up my ass." Canderous growled. "And I'll tell you this Whelp. If you think to leave me behind to babysit this damned ship or that little scrap of meat think again."

"That is a cause of some concern." Bastila said. "Who will remain behind to mind the youngling. I cannot imagine, Carth or Zaalbar wishing the duty."

"I will stay behind." Juhani volunteered.

"Are you sure?" asked Skye.

"I am the only viable one. We can not entrust the safety of the girl to a teenaged Wookie, nor T3 and HK-47 is completely out of the question. Carth has served his time as guardian. He will wish to leave the ship or he will become increasingly agitated."

"Something we do not want in our main pilot." Bastila agreed.

"Mission was promised to travel with you the Enclave and you and Bastila are both needed to activate the Star Map as well as to find...that which is lost." Juhani would not mention the lost holodisk with the others so near. It was a matter deeply private to Bastila and should remain so until the human decided otherwise. "I am fully capable to care for the youngling until her true guardian comes to collect her."

Skye padded up to the Cathar and placed a hand upon the younger woman's shoulder. "Thanks Juhani. I owe you."


	25. Chapter 25

touwn Chapter 25

As it turned out Juhani did not have to stay behind with Sasha. Lurak Sulas the Twi'lek operative from Dantooine had finally arrived just as the teams were readying to disembark for their perceptive objectives. Only after making sure the child was comfortable with her new guardian did Skye relinquish custodianship.

"Well now that little drama is over with maybe we can get some real work done," Canderous commented. "I'm guessing you have plans on how you're going to divide us all into teams as you're likely not taking us all into that enclave."

"No." Skye agreed. "HK, Mission myself and the other Jedi will head into the Enclave. You don't speak well Canderous. To make this work we'll need more talking than shooting." To this the old man grinned. To a Mandalorian the greatest insult you could offer was to tell them they spoke well. Meaning they had as much battle prowess as a diplomat- which according to Mandalorians, was none.

"And how do you propose to get into the Enclave?" Carth asked.

"That Duros we encountered coming out of the Czerka office had the right of it. Grim as it is. We'll have to take clothing off a few of the hit squads out in the Dunes and wrap ourselves in their robes. It won't pass at close inspection but it should get us past their patrol lines long enough to make contact. " Skye explained.

"But I can't hide my lekku in that get-up." Mission muttered.

"I fear your role will be no less alluring than wearing the garments of the dead." Bastila said. "The only way for you to enter the Enclave is as a prisoner."

"You mean a _slave_," the teenager huffed. "You know "Twi'lek" doesn't automatically mean slave."

"No it doesn't. But if you want accompany us to rescue your brother the role of slave is one you must play until we can establish a dialog with the Chieftain." Bastila tried to smooth the ruffled feathers of the teenager.

"Fine, but I 'aint wearing no chains."

"Clarification: Sandpeople don't use chains to bind their slaves, they prefer leather thongs." HK pointed out.

"Like that makes it any better."

"Appeasement: Leather thongs are not chains."

Mission rolled her eyes.

"So you play nice with the sandpeople to get that map- you have anything in mind for the rest of us?" the old merc repeated. "Or you just want us to go out hunt'in them wraids and keep an eye out for Raider strike teams."

"Until we get those maps from either the Jawas or possibly the chieftain, scouting out the Eastern Dune Sea is folly. Unless the contacts you made with mercs or hunters will act as guides." Skye responded.

"I wouldn't trust them to find their own assholes much less a cave with a damned ancient star map that may or may not be guarded by some damned dragon." Canderous answered gruffly.

"Komad Fortuna seemed reasonable enough." Juhani commented. "Would he not be infinitely more approachable than the Sandpeople? He is also a notable hunter; he knows of the dragons nests within the areas, does he not?"

"Only problem with that he's out there in the wasteland." Carth shook his head. "Suppose we could track his last known location see if he's willing to take us to the nest sites."

"That's good idea." The Nagai commended Onasi. "Keep in radio contact; keep us appraised of the situation with Fortuna. In the meantime, we continue as planned, we'll rendezvous back at the gates within twenty-four hours. Until then, good hunting."

It was decided that the Jedi team would take the dewbacks leaving the three swoop bikes for the males. T3 was left to guard the ship- something HK-47 found at first to be hilarious, then became horrified to discover his master was quite serious in trusting the little astromech in safeguarding the Ebon Hawk. T3 felt his core CPU swell with simulated pride in the trust and confidence his master was showing in his capabilities.

The fact a child had been able to stowaway on the Hawk as well the Gizka incident (as it had now become known) sparked a swift reaction with security measures that obviously had proven woefully underdeveloped. That was now remedied.

After the organics left, the little droid enacted the security protocols he and Ravensong had set up which included voice-locking the astronavigation computer. Other measures included quadruple redundancy encryption codes to insure only the Jedi's immediate party could even board the ship without her prior authorized consent. Anyone who tried would get frazzled as they attempted to board the frigate. It'd take a serious tech with top of the line cybernetics to slice into her systems without frying themselves in the process.

KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~

Ignoring the female hunter seemingly waiting for them just beyond the massive gates the team effectively split up to the designated destinations. There was no time to waste on the issues of others or their petty problems as Canderous stated and for once Skye was in full agreement. Whatever this hunter's issues were she was close enough to the city proper to get aid should she need it. Besides she didn't have the look of panic on her as if she lost some of her crew to either the wraids or sandpeople or the desert. Jedi didn't mean "bleeding heart push-over".

Skye lead the Jedi with Mission and HK towards the Sandpeople Enclave leaving the males to explore the Dunes. Carth and Canderous did not share command; it left the former Dark Lord to delegate the role of leadership of the second team to Ordo. This upset Onasi to no end. But left with the choice or remaining behind on the ship or following the Mandalorian, begrudgingly the Republic solider agreed to follow. However he didn't have to do so blindly like some grunt.

Five miles from the gate proper wisps of smoke tumbled over the rise of rounded dunes. The swoop bikes rose and fell like salmon upon the upward currents of a river as they navigated the sands to the pillar of smoke. Atop the rise they saw the source, like some blooded beached carcase of a metallic whale was the rusted hulk of a Czerka sandcrawler.

The men of Ebon Hawk brought their bikes to a halt. Amongst the wreckage- some inorganic some not- were a handful of survivors. All human. Along the detritus were the bodies of four Tusken Raiders and equally the same number of humans in Czerka miners' uniforms. The survivors of what had to be a recent skirmish were busy taking stockpile of their recourses: water, energy clips for blasters, med kits and stim packs.

"Since when do sandpeople hit anything this big?" Carth asked upon seeing the incredulous sight. The treads of the megalithic transport were blasted away, so were several portals and support beams. It had the look of concentrated fire not skill that took them out.

"Since now." Ordo answered blandly. "You, old man, what's going on here?" Canderous addressed the eldest of the miners. They were probably of the same age as the as one another, though the miner's face was more weathered and cracked no doubt due to the harsh twin suns of Tatooine.

His accent was strange- not native to Tatooine- and neither Carth nor Canderous could place it, not that it mattered. "The Sandpeople, they're sun crazy or something. They've been attacking anyone on sight. Well I suppose they don't attack each other but any outsider is as good as dead.

"The Company tried to arm us and even set up remote self powered turrets along the mining route but that just made things worse," the old man shook his head. "We're not soldiers! They still kill us and take our weapons from our corpses. They've even managed to disable the turrets using Jawa slaves and bring them back to their own Enclave. It's like a fortress now"

"Oh crap." Carth shook his head. "We've got to warn Skye. She won't know they're there."

"So do it." Canderous responded to Cath but then directed a new question to the miner "Have to say I'm a little surprised they took your turrets. Thought those rag heads detested that kind of tech."

"Yeah they do, but they love to turn it against us even more," the old minor said. "That goes for our turrets and blasters too," bony shoulders shrugged. "It's not like you need to be a genius to operate them. Heh, they probably don't even bother with the special settings. They just watch for people approaching and switch them on."

"How are Mission and the Jedi going to get in now?" Asked Zaalbar. But without Mission or Skye to translate, the others didn't quite understand him. At most Carth got 'How Jedi in?'

"Same plan as before, at least they'll know the new stakes." Carth answered, or at least hoping he was answering the Wookiee's question.

"Don't know what plan you're talking about but it'll have to wait." The old miner called out. They three companions turned to him. They followed the line of his finger as it pointed east of them and saw another band of Raiders heading towards them. It looked to be about six or seven of the desert aboriginals. "It's another strike!"

"Where in hell are they all coming from?" one of the younger lads whimpered. His nerves were clearly frayed. Onasi had seen plenty of that in the young privates holding the front line back during the war. The kid was visibly quaking in his boots so much so he had a difficult time maintaining his hold on his blaster.

"Bunker down," Onasi ordered. "You're not alone now."

"Going to wipe is his ass too, Republic?" Canderous' snide remark grated on the Commander but he wasn't about to let the kid fall because his ego was taking a beating.

Carth was determined not to be provoked by the asshole. He picked his target- squeezed—the trigger and watched as one of the sandpeople's heads exploded.

His sudden death did not serve as a deterrent to the Raiders. They did not scatter, or find cover but kept their charge. Their gaffii sticks, like Wookie bowcasters, had a primitive look and feel to them yet were capable of hefty energy damage. Where the sandpeople lacked efficiency and precision in their strikes, they made up for in sheer brutality and uncompromising tenacity in their attacks.

Canderous and Zaalbar flanked him each taking refuge behind the detritus of the previous battle. The Wookiee and Carth laid down cover fire letting Canderous select his targets with impunity. The rifle's targeting system established a wireless link to his visors HUD and a thin blue line angled across the drone's feed. This was the trajectory his shots would travel. Canderous angled his carbine disrupter up until the vector turned green: an indication that his first shot would pass directly through the target individual's chest and into the man behind him.

The blasts tore through the sandpeoples' personal shields like soggy tissue paper even at 28 meters. What was left of his targets was nothing more than a collection of constituent molecules (the reason his prototype heavy repeating blaster was outlawed on many worlds. It didn't seem to bother the Mandalorian however.) Two Raiders- the one he targeted and the one directly behind him flew to pieces.

The sandpeople began to brake up their initial assault pattern. They had obviously not counted on trained military support. Carth's blasters opened a volley to the right flank pushing the sandpeople back into the circle of Ordo's targeting solutions. Zaalbar had forgone his bowcaster in lieu of a volley of grenades. The teenaged Wookiee recalled how Skye had used a series of adhesive in conjunction with frags when she was competing in the Arena back on Taris.

In his arsenal he had a few cyroban and plasma grenades- a far more deadly combination. His powerful muscles allowed him to launch the ranged ordinances with great velocity. They landed in the clustered Raiders pining then to the ground. It wouldn't last. Like a pitcher at a claw-ball game Zaalbar lofted the next volley of plasma grenades into the heart of the immobile mass one after the other.

The miners were holding their own, their courage bolstered by the Hawk men. They were not as precise as Ordo or Onasi but they took advantage of the immobile insurgents at the same time Zaalbar was lofting his second round of explosives.

The bodies burned as plasma hit them, disintegrated by the Manndalorian's riffle and littered with holes form Carth and the miners' blasters. Their screams of rage and death fell to the blood-soaked sand.

Carth took an assessment of his companions. They all seemed untouched. Upon further inspection it seemed one of the miners had not fared so well. He was in no danger of bleeding out, but if he didn't get help soon he was good as dead.

War had taught the Republic officer the importance of triage. He would have easily handed the Czerka man a med pack but with the dangers of the desert, scarifying even one med pack could mean the life or death of his own people. The desert was a vicious bitch that took no prisoners. If you weren't ready to face it she took you, just like the ocean. The Czerka men were not far from Anchorhead. Help could be found there if they didn't dally around a dead sandcrawler.

"Thanks for the help." Old Miner said addressing Carth. "We'd all been killed if you hadn't helped. But we're not staying here. We got to get back to Anchorhead." He turned and looked and the great metal hulk behind him. "We're leaving that thing there," he chuckled dryly as a thought came to him. "Hell maybe the Jawas can salvage it and sell it back to Czerka. Or maybe they'll hell keep it for themselves. Can you imagine Jawas riding around in a sandcrawler? Probably keep in their clan for generations. Who knows? Not my problem any more after we get back to Anchorhead first chance I get I'm leaving this dust bowl."

The other miners nodded in agreement. No contract was worth their lives. Czerka promised it cared for its employees but at the end of the day every employee was expendable to the corporate office on Coruscant.

Carth watched the Mandalorian and Zaalbar start shifting through the dead Raiders and taking the coveted gaffii sticks from their still warm fingers. There was a bounty to be had—why not cash in? Onasi found it repulsive but he couldn't disagree. It was like Skye back on Taris riffling through the dead swoopers or Sith to take weapons, creds or whatever else she could salvage to use or sell as needs demanded. He suspected that the whole of their mission to catch and stop Malak would be fraught with salvaging from the dead. They were being led by a scout-come-Jedi who saw no ill in such actions; it was necessity.

While the others continued to pick over the dead he activated the radio and made a necessary call to their leader. He relayed all they had learned about the sandpeople.

"This is exactly what we don't need," Skye said over the radio. "At least now we know why the Jawas were taken. Even more reason to rescue them. Sandpeople and tech are not a good combination. We'll have to find a way to neutralize those turrets one way or the other if we can't pacify the Chieftain. Keep me apprised of any other developments. Ravensong out."

The Jedi turned to her companions moving her mount closer to theirs so she could repeat Carth's warning about the Enclave. Just as she finished speaking a shot fired past Skye's dewback.

Using the Force she leapt form the lizard's back and somersaulted over the heads of the startled Raiders while igniting her blades at the same time. She landed in their midst and beheaded the one that shot at her before he knew hat happened. She spun on the ball of her foot and planted the heel of her other foot in the midsection of another, making him fall back into one of his buddies. The latter fell onto his backside dragging his friend with him as he tried to maintain his balance to no avail. They both toppled to the sandy ground in a plume of dust and a tangle of arms and legs.

At the same time Juhani and Bastila leapt to the side as a barrage of gaffi-fire was unleashed form the cluster. They hit the ground in a roll that brought them to their feet just in time to spring clear of a second series of bolts.

Moving with blinding speed of the Force, Juhani raced across the sands, her boots kicking up puffs of dirt behind her with each blindingly fast step she took. A Force leap landed her behind the fray, as Skye kicked the one and had spiralled into the others behind them she brought her blade down impaling them before they could rise.

Bastila whirled to her feet from the roll. The double blades of her saber humming a golden death knell. She didn't brother to block the bolts. Instead, she launched herself upward, her foreword momentum caring her high, in a somersaulting leap that arched over the Raiders, and though they fired several hurried shots, none hit her. But even a Jedi Knight could not maintain such a defence indefinitely. She slashed her lightsaber diagonally across her enemy's torso.

As the Raider's corpse toppled to the ground, Bastila turned her attention back to the mob. By this time they were scattering. The sandpeople had not counted on their prey being Jedi. They had to regroup, protecting their fallen. Fear emanated from them, and deep anger-a hatred so dark it could have blotted out the twin suns overhead.

Heavy blaster in mechanical hands HK had no problem zeroing in on the ragged grabbed meatbags. He was determined to show his skills as personal combat droid over those of his protocol programming he was as he said practically quivering in his gears. "Boastful exclamation: Die meatbags! DIE!"

His blaster bolt zinged into the back of the skull of a Raider who was at the very moment raising his gaffii stick over his head like a headman's axe ready to club his master senseless. His head popped off like a dandelion top; his blood flowered over in a pink-gray mist.

The former Dark Lord abruptly changed tactics, shifting from the conventional defensive positions of the Soresu form to the more acrobatics attack sequences of Ataru. Her opponent tried to turn and pivot to keep Skye in front of him, but the furious burst of action was too fast for his gaffi stick to track. She purposefully directed her body so that she came in at a sharper angle than necessary, leaving barely enough room for the other Raiders to come between her and her target.

Skye raised her left hand and unleashed her power in a storm of righteous green lightning. The other Jedi instinctively used the Force to throw up invisible barriers to shield themselves. The bolts arced through the air, ripping into the unprotected bodies of the Sandpeople and engulfing them in electric agony.

They screamed, their voices rising above the hiss and crackle of the fiery energy coursing through their veins. Every nerve in their bodies exploded in excruciating pain as the force lighting seared their flesh, cooking them in their own rags. They fell to the dunes, curled into their own bodies, their skin blistered and burned. The whole thing had taken only a few seconds.

Bastila looked at the corpses on the desert ground, then back to _Revan_. She knew that the woman who once claimed the title of Darth was able to use Force Lightning by tapping into the power of the Dark Side. The same lightning that fell the Raiders had tore into the raiding party when she led the assault on the Dark Lord's flagship. It was the deep dark-brilliant purple. To summon it, a dark Jedi tapped into the rage and hatred of the Dark Side. But Skye had, through training and her studies in the archives, unlocked an ancient technique to use the same power but calling upon the essence of determined justice. It was a power nearly as terrible as the Dark Side when unleashed. Long ago the Masters had forbade this power for its dangers of its user falling.

"Teach us this technique." Bastila said now looking at the woman she once loved and was beginning to do so again. "Should we need to fight the sandpeople or disable those turrets, the emerald lightning would be a great advantage." She hastily clarified her intent.

Skye was giving her a particularly quizzical look then after a heartbeat the former Dark Lord nodded her raven head. "You have a point," she said. "And it's a good one." For the next several minutes she went over the text she had discovered in the archives on Dantooine. It had been a holocron dating back hundreds of years from an old master that had in fact used several forbidden Force techniques. He was one of the first Shadows—a branch of the Councilors. To this day many in the Order believed the Shadows walked a perilous line between the Light and Dark sides of the Force.

_A Shadow serves the Jedi Order by being a silent observer and, when action is necessary, a subtle hand. To avoid rash decisions on the part of the Council, Shadows go unseen, gathering information and quietly thwarting those who seek to threaten the Jedi Order. Employing Force techniques that cloud enemy minds, Shadows slip into hostile territory, and when necessary, they strike enemies down with deadly efficiency._

Skye looked again to Bastila who was for the most part already walking the path of the Shadow. Had she not gone into enemy territory (Revan's flagship)? Was she not standing in silence over the Council's decision regarding Revan's reprogramming and playing along with the charade of Skye Ravensong? Skye's mind was most defiantly clouded though she was no enemy... now.

Juhani however was more of a Guardian—a branch of the Knights who were a wall between the good people of the Republic and their enemies- the Guardian stands firm in the face of overwhelming odds and dares opponents to attack. Perfect concentration and use of the Force allows smooth movement even in heavy armor-making the Guardian a hard target to take down. Leaders on and off the battlefield, Guardians are known for inspiring allies to amazing feats, making them invaluable for conflicts of any size.

Skye may have chosen the way of the Shadow but somewhere in the recesses of her memory the way of the Guardian was more familiar to Revan. But her memory was clouded; it had more holes in it than a Kaminoan sponge.

"Okay I'll show you what I learned. It would be easier with live targets but... ah..." the Nagai was interrupted by Mission, who the others had almost forgotten was there.

During the battle the girl had tried to pull of a few rounds but she couldn't get a clean shot with the Jedi in the middle of the fracas. And the dewbacks weren't any help. She had a hard enough time keeping them from bolting that by the time she got the lizard mounts under control the fighting was over.

"If its live targets you want Skye. Think you got it. There are bunch of those brown lizard things coming this way!"

"Wraids!" Skye smiled in delight. "Perfect."

"Hesitant query: Master, you will not be leaving me behind with the child as you teach Jedi tricks to your followers will you?"

The Nagai looked back to the droid. "No, of course not. You'll be taking Point Charlie."

"Dissatisfied statement: the rear guard Master, surely I have proven capable of battle."

"Yeah you have. Question my orders again and you won't be getting off the Hawk," the blue eyes glowered.

"Quick appeasement: No Master, I wasn't questioning your orders. Master, I would _never _do that."

"Ah-ah."

"This conversation will have to wait." Juhani grabbed their attention. "The wraids are charging. It must be the smell of the battle that draws them."

Skye ignited her black blade leaving the off-hand one on her belt. "Okay like I explained. draw the power from the core of your mind. Tap into the determination. Use the calm before the 'storm' to unleash its power. Lightning is not intrinsically evil. It's a Force power like any other."

"You said the emerald fire was created to sap an enemy's strength and willpower yet you killed with it." Juhani said as she took a defensive yet aggressive stance as the five wraids drew ever closer.

"Yeah well I had to adapt to the situation. Why do you think the Council forbade its use? You can't call it "electric judgment" and then kill with it can you?" she charged forward throwing a blanket stasis field around the wraids freezing them in place. She needed crowd control if the other Jedi were to learn the power. "HK, take out one of them! Mission take another!"

"Excited delectation: Yes master!" As he had with the Raider, HK's HUD zeroed in on a precision shot. Rather than a sniper blow, he let lose a bragged of rapid fire riddling the massive beast's hid with holes.

Still mounted on the dewback, the native Tarisian selected the wraid closest to them on the right. Carth had been helping her with the trickier skills of blaster use. His lessons had paid off. Breathe slow, squeeze the trigger.

BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM!

Four power blasts just behind the massive armored head plate. Four hits. The softer area that wasn't protected by the shield-like head plating tore open like soggy bread. But it wasn't enough to kill the beast.

Bastila summed up all she had felt for the past day. Her mother showing up asking her to fetch her father's holodisk like some hound; Skye revealing she knew who she truly was but no true memory of who that was. The Council demanding she continue to lie and deceive and keep secrets that made her feel corrupt and shallow; and the indignity of her capture on Taris- of which she would never reveal how she was taken so easily by a bunch of thugs.

Her fingers tingled. It felt like the after-effects of receiving a rather nasty jolt of static shock. It was like a sneeze that won't sneeze, the burning energy contained suddenly it bursts free. White/emerald lighting shot out of her outstretched finger tips into the body of a wraid. It cried out in alarm, its body shivering at the unexpected attack.

Bastila continued to pour every ounce of what she had been feeling since the day of Revan's capture into the strike. A single bolt splintered as more tendrils of primal energy was siphoned into it- fuelling it- creating a more powerful blow.

On the other side of her, though slower to start the jolt, Juhani's shot into her target was growing in equal power. At first it seemed almost purple in the like of the Sith. The anger she felt towards the fate of her home planet raged within her. Taris! Taris had fallen because Bastila had been there; Skye's precious Bastila- the Councils precious Bastila! Skye has saved her but in doing so Malak had glassed Taris. Juhani had hated the place but it was still her home... now it was gone. She wanted justice for it! Not vengeance, but true justice for all the dead- for those who had to scrape by in the Lower City and for the outcasts in the Undercity. For all those who the humans believed far beneath them. When the Jedi were there before the Mandalorian Wars it felt a little safer. Then came the first Jedi purge when the Masters had turned on their own Padawans because they believed one of them was going to be the new Dark Lord. Then the Jedi left and the Mandalorians came. Then Revan came and drove the Mandies away. Revan was justice.

Juhani took what she felt from that day- the day the saviour, the Revanchist came and turned it into a battery of power. The lightning turned from purple to emerald. The Cathar took the beloved memory of when Revan had spoke to a little ten year old Juhani and told her she had the Force. There was justice that day.

The wraid, completely drained of willpower, had no desire to fight. Its strength left it making the hulk topple over in a pathetic wheezing moan. With no will to even live the creature-died.

"I think its dead." Skye's voice broke though the Cathar's concentration, "you got the hang of it."

Juhani lowered her hand. Her body tingled. She looked down, certain her fur was standing upright with static charge but it was smooth against her skin.

Stepping closer the Nagai whispered. "You want to talk about what just happened there?"

"No." Juhani said shaking her head causing her topknot to bounce. "Not right now," her tone became gentler.

Skye put a hand on the younger woman's shoulder. "Alright. But if you do, I'll be here."

"Thank you." Juhani turned and headed back towards the dewbacks. While she felt the warmth of justice in Revan's memory, the presence of Skye right now so close to Bastila was a cavity and something the Cathar did not wish brought into the light- at least not for the moment.

Skye turned her attention back to her bondmate. "You okay?"

"Yes." Bastila drew in a long breath. "I can see why the Council of old was so concerned over the power. How easy it is to tap into other emotions."

"But..."

"It wrong of them to ignore this power, we should develop it into a useful technique."

The former Dark Lord nodded in full agreement. What she heard next from Bastila was unexpected. "There are many things that I am beginning to question about the Council. Not the Jedi-but the Council. They are not as omnipotent as they would have us believe," her eyes now boring into the older woman's. "They were wrong to make me keep such secrets from you," she hesitantly placed a hand on Skye's cheek. For a moment it felt was if she was going to lean into a kiss, but then she pulled back and without another word headed for the mounts.

They had a mission to complete after all.


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

Traversing the length of the dunes upon the backs of hearty dewbacks made the trek that much easier. Mission didn't want to imagine how long it would take upon foot or how stupid someone would have to be to try it. And why would you want to?

She didn't know how people could live here. It was too bright. Far too hot and despite the openness there was no air. Oh there was oxygen, but no air. Not the right kind. This air burned, crushed your lungs, crushed your skull, and it pressed down upon you.

_Griff, you better appreciate this. Idiot. Why'd you have to come here? Why'd you leave me? 'Cuz you did didn't you? You left me for her. She drag you here? This is __a__ shitty place Griff. I hate this place. Taris was better, even with all the pollution, the bigotry, swoop wars… all the bantha poodoo. It was better- Rakghouls are better than Sandpeople any day. I hate this dumb planet. _

"...Mission!" Skye's voice snapped the girl from her own thoughts.

"Um... yeah?"

"I asked you if you're ready for this. We're only a mile from the Enclave. You need to be ready."

Mission looked around her. She had been ridding double with HK-47 who had remained mounted on their lizard and thus hadn't taken any real notice when they weren't still travelling. The Jedi had all dismounted and were now dressing in their recovered robes and dusty wraps.

"Augh it smells of bantha musk, sweat and dust." Juhani complained wrinkling up her nose. Her olfactory senses were far keener than Human or Nagai and even to them the wraps were very rank.

"I thought of that." Skye reached into one of the satchels on her utility belt. She had three tiny devices. "Olfactory blockers. We can't pass for Sandpeople if we're gagging from the rags. Sorry Mish, but ah... you didn't need one. You need to be as natural as possible. Oh and show some of that same spirit you had when you faced those sleemos in the cantina, but you also need to be down-trodden like the desert sucked the life out of you."

"That isn't hard to fake…" Mission grumbled. "I feel like oozing melted butter."

The Jedi nodded. "Good. Use that. Use the malevolence you have for this desert- the heat- let it show on your face. It's going to be the only way we're going to sell this charade." Skye looked at her. "Look Mission, you don't have go if you don't want to. Stay here with the dewbacks. We can make sure they don't run off by hobbling them but you can stay here, watch over things. I promise you I won't leave that Enclave without your brother safely in my custody."

Mission looked down to the ground them back to her hero. "I probably should go."

"You don't have to." The Nagai pressed. "Getting in won't be easy. After we do I'll send for you when it's safe."

"Getting in won't be easy. When you do you can send for me when it's safe." Mission repeated.

"Good idea." Skye said sounding pleased. The other two Jedi remained mute though they knew exactly what Skye had just done.

Mission dismounted and took charge of the beasts watching passively as the Jedi and droid started for the large structure. It wasn't until the Jedi were over the next dune when it occurred to Mission that Skye had done a Jedi mind-trick on her. Now she was stuck out here in the sand, sun and dust.

'_Damn it!'_ Mission plunked down into the sand, folded her legs under her tailor style and rested her elbows on her knees and held her head in her hands. "Damn Jedi! I can't believe she did that! She jumbled my head!" She swiped the sand with her hand. "Bet she had that planned all along," she sighed. "Sure come along, we'll rescue your brother... PFT! Never said I wouldn't get to go in. Even let me believe I'd be going in all tied up like a fracking slave. Then... oh no, you stay here with the stupid lizards because it's safer." She yanked at the rains of one of the dewbacks in frustration causing it to grunt out in protest. "It isn't fair!" the teenager grumbled. "I'm not some youngling that needs protecting. I'm a woman now! I've started those stupid periods!" she shouted out to the desert. Her anger startled the dewbacks that harrumphed in objection of their peace being disturbed. "Oh what do you know?" She snapped at the beasts.

Their only answer was to snort.

KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR

"Mission will be angry at you for quite some time." Bastila said as the three Jedi headed for the Enclave.

"Better angry then dead," the former Dark Lord said dismissively. "If it's safe then I'll have HK go back and get her. But until we know, I'd rather her be out of the line of fire. The kid has no business going into a place like that. And in good conscience can the two of you let her go in there? Besides you know what she's like. She likes to pick pockets, pick locks, cheat at pazzak and look through things that don't belong to her. We can't risk that. Though I am moderately sure Sandpeople don't play pazzak."

"You did the right thing, Skye." Bastila said touching her arm and gave it a tender squeeze.

"I think what she means is that you will have an emotional, hormonal teenager on your hands what will more likely throw a tantrum when she recovers from the mind trick. A teenager that looks up to you." Juhani said.

"Ah..." Skye grimaced. "Well... humm..." she cleared her throat. "Well she'll get over it once she sees her brother. Come on we have an Enclave infiltrate."

They passed through the turrets unscathed, even managed to pass through the gates. But their progress was halted almost immediately by an astonished guard. He recognized almost immediately they were not of his people. The disguises were not that effective. And the guard let them know it.

"Interjection: One moment... I believe I understood that Master. It may not been his intention, but he did actually communicate something."

"Quickly tell him we're not a threat." Skye ordered.

HK did as ordered. The grunts and growls of the Raider language was still something the Nagai didn't understand. It would take her a bit longer to comprehend it. The droid turned to his master.

"Result: I believe I have succeeded in confusing him, Master. We have shown an interest not common with outsiders."

Playing the diplomat Skye said. "Apologize for being here and tell him we want peace."

HK did so. The guard looked to HK to the Jedi then back to the droid. He said something which of course HK related.

"Translation: He is expressing disbelief... as am I... but his duty requires he reports to the chief. Extrapolation: It appears we are at least worthy of curiosity, for the moment. I would much rather this get bloody, Master, but it is your call."

"Good." Skye nodded. Then out of respect and more than a little relief, she and the other Jedi shed the desert wraps. The disguises were moot anyway this far in. And if things were to get 'bloody' Skye wanted the freedom of her Jedi garments. And at least now both her sabers were within easy reach at her sides rather than concealed in the multitude of folds of the course weave of the fabric of the sandpeople. To her left HK-47 kept guard and at her right both her companions were much more at ease to be rid of the rank robes. Even the guard seemed to relax a little now that the Jedi weren't wearing the garments of his dead tribe-mates.

They were led through straw and skin huts towards the center of the enclave. Skye seized the opportunity to spot-check for any anomalies that might clue her in to their perspective purposes. Two structures were concededly more sturdy then the others. They were guarded by four Tusken Raiders. Prison quarters. Had to be. She gave a slight tilt to her head causing the others to look as well. They too saw the structures and what they probably were.

It was clear from his tone that the Raider's chieftain despised all outsides. You didn't need to understand the language to understand that.

If there was any doubt HK-47 cleared it up. "Translation: I can translate with some degree of accuracy that he is demanding to know why he should let us survive this encounter, Master."

"Tell him we want a peaceful solution."

The chieftain apparently wasn't buying it. "Translation: He claims he has no reason to believe you Master. Your kind have tainted the land with machines and uncaring ignorant feet. He requires proof of good faith. We must make a contribution to his person that proves we are not a threat. Shall I blast him now, Master?"

Skye smirked. "Tempting. But no. Ask him what he wants."

If the droid could roll its ocular probes it would have. But he did as bade. The chieftain barked out his demands that had HK shaking his head. "Translation: He plans to move his people further away from Anchorhead, but he needs to build up stores of water first. He says you must aid him. He wants moister vaporators from Czerka. If you deliver them he will order his people to reduce the attacks on the miners."

"Tell him he will get the vaporators but the attacks will stop all together."

"Warring: Master such a demand will result in hostilities. Not that I mind. I look forward to it."

Skye continued to look at the chieftain as she spoke. "Bastila, Juhani, I want a small display of power. Use lighting. Nice and slow, just a small globe in the center of your hand. HK, Tell his Grand Sandiness here that he has _not_ met my kind yet. For we are Jedi."

"If he is too blind to see that Jedi and Czerka and the Anchorhead hunters are not the same then why is he Chieftain. Are not chieftains the brightest, strongest, wisest of all warriors? Is he Chieftain or is he not?

"And if we have ignorant feet ask him why this is so. Where have the miners trespassed with their machines where have they gone? We wish to know so that we do not trespass. And if he does not believe us, remind him we have no guarantee of his word either. What we do have is the guarantee of violence. Ask him if he has a guarantee that none of the non-combatants will not be killed if this leads to violence. Tell him I have no desire to kill him or any of his people but I will not hesitate to do so. And I have the power to do it! Tell him he can be Chieftain of the living or he can be the leader of the dead. What does he want?"

'_REVAN!' _Bastila shouted in their link.

'_Trust me,' _she whispered, then aloud said, "When HK is done speaking display the lightning immediately."

The message was passed along. Even as HK was relating the Jedi's words three hands sparked to life with green lightning. The Chieftain's honor guards immediately pointed their gaffi sticks at them. The Jedi drew their lightsabers but did not ignite them. The astonishing show of power froze the Raiders where they stood. They looked to the Chieftain for direction. No outsider had ever shown this sort of power, none of their own had ever displayed such capabilities. They simply did not know what to do.

His eyes could not be seen; his voice could not be understood. His stance however was. It was resolute. Indignant. Hateful. Skye stared at him. Her hand went to the activation switch of her saber, a motion that was not lost on the Raiders. The Chieftain must have spotted something else. Resolve.

He croaked out his words causing his men to back down.

"It is good we have an understanding." Skye said coldly. "Now tell me about ignorant feet. Is this why his people are so hostile towards outsiders? Are Czerka and the hunters trespassing in sacred places? Have any ancient relics been disturbed?"

"Protocol: this is a very sensitive topic, Master. You will want to be careful with your questions or you will risk offending them. Not that it is much of a worry."

"Ask."

HK did.

"Translation: He says the fact you have to ask is just one more example of your ignorance as an outsider, Master. He says, I am blind yet you are the one that is blind. His people believe they are a part of the land, living with it. You and your kind dare raise yourself above the land. You remove yourself. This act of removal makes you an outsider, separate from all that is important. You can never understand how unwelcome you are."

"Jedi are connected to all. The Force is in the land, all life. We feel it in the rocks, the sand, in the stars, the suns. Jedi are bound to it. What does he mean outsiders raise themselves above the land?"

"Translation: He says that outsiders use machines to convey them, and make their lives easier, this severs the connection to the land. Connection to the soil must be made through the flesh. A sacred animal is the only external tool to be used."

"Humph, hypospray. They cover themselves up completely. There is no flesh showing, how can he make claims that only flesh and soil gives them a connection to the land? He has demanded water vaporators. Machines."

HK translated as bidden. Skye kept a watchful eye on the Chief, her dislike for the man rising and rising at each passing moment. She listened carefully to the exchange of unintelligible words, trying to make them understandable.

"Translation: He says the use of the blasphemous things are tolerated- outside influence has forced them it upon them. If your kind had not come here, he would not have to defend their ways or their land. As for the connection, he says the robes are sacred, Master. And you would not understand. Tuskens are never uncovered outside the most private moments."

"HK, you will inform his Grand Sandiness _again_ that Jedi are not the kind from Anchorhead. They are not my people; say that I do not wish them to be slaughtered any more than I wish it upon his. Which is why I want this peace. Which is why I will fetch the blasphemous machines for him. Jedi are not the same as the outsides he despises."

"Cautionary: Master he views all non-Tusken Raiders the same. He will not care you do. Insisting upon the distinction will lead to high probability of hostilities."

"Do it. And remind him about the lightning he saw. Then tell him I can do far far more. And I'm not the only one that can do such things. The Force is the absolute power of the universe. And it is power Jedi draw upon it. For each grain of sand in this desert is grain of the Force. Make him think about it. Tell him he can lump all others in his view. We are not his people; we are not like the outsiders of Anchorhead."

Reliantly the droid repeated the words.

The chieftain paused.

'_Why are you so insistent upon this?' _Bastila pressed.

'_Perception. Can you not feel his hatred? His resentment? His fear? He doesn't know what to make of us. He fears the power we have shown him, and we are not his people but we are different then all other outsiders. I need his mind disorganized, muddled and fixated not on his loathing of outsiders but on what three Jedi might do. I don't want to kill these people Bas. I don't want their slaughter but I will not allow them to kill the assholes in Anchorhead either or the moister farmers. It ends today.'_

'_He won't fight will he?'_

'_Not on this he won't. Other things probably. I just want him distracted.' _

"Translation: he admits you and the other Jedi are not like other outsiders."

"Thank him for seeing the distinction. Then ask him about the captives: Jawas and a male Twi'lek."

It took a moment for the droid to pass along the question. "Translation: He has slaves but he refuses to talk about them. He does not trust you. He doesn't trust the power he saw. He says if you return with the vaporators he will speak of the captives. We are to be escorted out."

"No. Tell him my Jedi will leave, I am staying until they return with the vaporators. And they will." She crossed her arms, glaring at the Chieftain daring him defy her proclamation.

He did not.

"Skye what are you doing?" Juhani protested grabbing the Nagai's arm.

"Getting the information we need. You and Bas will go back to the Czerka office. Go to the requisitions officer- not that twit running the office- to get vaporators. Then get your tails back here," she grinned disarmingly.

"Skye... don't do this... There is no guarantee the chieftain won't order his men to attack as soon as we're gone." Bastila added her voice to the younger Jedi's objection.

"It's already done. Go. Get it done. HK you will stay here."

"Skye..." Bastila interrupted.

"Trust me," the Nagi said looking deeply into gray-blue eyes of her bondmate.

The Chief barked something which of course HK passed along. "Translation: He does not understand why you are doing this. Why do Jedi wish to be captive?"

"I don't. You do not trust us. Fair enough. I don't trust you. I do not know who the slaves are, but to Jedi slaves are as abhorrent as showing flesh is to the Tusken. It is offensive. I said I do not wish to kill you or your people. But I will not allow the slaves to remain anymore than I will allow the ignorant feet people of Anchorhead to be slighted by your warriors. This too is offensive as equally offensive as it would be to have to slaughter the Tuskens.

"I and my companions can leave true enough. You said you did not expect us back or to keep our word about the vaporators. Now my companions have an incentive to do so. I am no slave. I will not be kept as one. I am Jedi."

After HK trades the words he said. "Result: I do believe you succeeded in confusing them once again. Master, I do believe the Chieftain has no idea what to make of you at this moment. Confession: nor do I."

Skye's lips curled into a fox-like grin. "Excellent. Now we can truly talk." She sat down then gestured to the fire pit. "Sit."

To their own astonishment the Raiders did so. And only when they had done so did they realize they had done as this strange alien Jedi asked them. Now it was too late to stand. So they sat, their distain rising and mixing with equal parts to confused bewildered minds.

"You wanted this." Juhani observed.

"Yes. If they are sitting and talking they're not fighting."

Juhani shook her head. "You are quite possibly the most brilliant Jedi I have ever met or the most insane."

"Isn't strange how often those two aspects are connected?" Skye commented still with a slight smirk. "Please go now while things are quiet. And come back swiftly will you. I don't know how long I can keep them befuddled."

Slowly she took out her canteen and took a sip of water. The look on her face was of complete indifference. She reached into her pouch and withdrew a protien bar and a second one. She held it up. "Not certain about the protocols here. Is a guest supposed to offer their host food at their own fire or is it the other way around? I always get it confused."

She waited for the translation. And waited, and waited. Then she put the bar back into her pouch. "No matter. You don't mind do you?"

Silence.

"Explanation: I don't think they knew how to answer that either, Master."

"Didn't think so. I'm little tetchy after the track in the desert, the heat... you know having to deal with the uncooperative."

Silence.

As she was eating she cocked her head to the side. "I'd like to know about the ancient soil. The stories of the land. Things the ignorant feet people don't listen to. The ancient areas, the territory of the dragons. The Tuskens are Tatooine's children; her sand is in your blood. What is the legacy of Tatooine?"

Silence...

...Then the chieftain barked an order. One of his honor guard rose and left his tent.

"HK what's going on?"

"Translation: He has sent for the Storyteller. I believe Master you have impressed him. Observation: I believe he is still very confused."

"Are you?"

"No longer, Master. I believe this tactic is what is called a diversion in order to buy time for your companions."

In a mater of moments the Storyteller came to the fire. His demeanour was not the same as the warriors, though he still held cold distain for the Jedi and her abominable machine. Apparently he kept the Sandpeople's history, which upon further questioning was an oral history. It was an active part of their lives; it is only permitted to relay the tales face to face. A book or a datapad can be taken away, cheapening the value of what it contains. To commit it to paper or to transfer it to paper or a storage device is to remove it from the people.

It was going to be a long day.

"Translation: It begins in ancient times. They were not the sand people for there was no sand. The land was green with life and they walked without their wrappings. Though the land was beautiful, they lived apart form the land. They built their walls high and they saw beyond the horizon. They dared to reach the stars.

"There are no words for how long ago this was. It was before the outsiders, before the abduction, before the cities fell. Before the Builders."

Suddenly Skye sat up a little straighter. Abduction. Fallen cites. The Builders. It was the same name the ancient droid on Dantooine had spoken of. They knew the Builders had been here: the Star Map was here. To have evidence at hand, to know more about these elusive Builders, Skye... clung to it desperately hoping it will jar something in Revan's memory.

"HK I want to ask something about what I've heard."

"Cautionary: I should warn you Master that any questioning of their interpretation may be trying to change the meaning of what was said. Clarification: They may consider this to be 'speaking the words in error.' A blasphemy they may attempt to kill you for."

"Understood. I want to ask about the ancient times."

"Clarification: It would appear that they once had a thriving technological advanced society, but they were wiped out by a much more sophisticated alien species."

"The Builders." Skye said. "Ask him if this was so."

HK did so. "Translation: He only understands the Builders as an iconic force meant to test the resolve of his people. He is not making sense, Master. They claim their stories are repeated unchanged but they may have demonized the Builders. In their mind the Builders have wreaked such havoc they could not possibly be flesh and blood."

"Yeah well ask the moister farmers and miners and they'd say the same about these people- don't repeat that," she sighed. "I imagine there is nothing in the Galactic Records that verifies this."

"Negative: I am no library, but since there is no Republic record of this planet having sentient life before Czerka colonization. I doubt you will find such evidence."

"Yeah no kidding. And if there were, Atris isn't coughing it up. Ask him if he can tell me how long ago Tatooine was 'green with life'."

"Doubtful: I don't believe he can, Master. Even if their stories are exact and unchanged. It is likely they were first told thousands of years after these events occurred. This has become much like a creation myth for his people. There is no date: it simply was."

"Tell him to continue where he left off. Oh and you no longer have to translate his words now. I understand their langue well enough now. If I need clarification, I'll look to you and you'll tell me."

"Statement: I am as obedient as ever, Master."

And so the story continued. The arrogant people touched the stars and this sin drew the attention of the Builders. The Builders did not touch the stars, they lashed them to millstones. Great demons of metal stripped the world of riches, until all that was left was the green of the ground. The great cities were lifted away. Those that used the wealth were taken away with it: transgressors abducted to serve past the sky, seeding the stars with penitent adaptable slaves.

Skye stopped the storyteller once again to ask her questions. Again she was cautioned by HK and he again was ignored.

"I want to ask about the time of enslavement."

"Clarification: I believe they were occupied by this technological superior species for a substantial period. Stripping an entire planet of usable resources would have taken generations."

"Yeah. And HK, for times sake call these technological superior species the Builders."

"Statement: as you order, Master." HK repeated the question.

"There is no number. Those that were taken were the worst examples of the Tuskens, arrogant, and uncaring of the hand."

"Doubtful: Master this is just another denomination of the Builders. It's like claiming an aspect of his people were taken, not actual individuals. Clearly history has colored his view. Of course only the inferior meat-bags were taken. The remaining were his ancestors after all and must have been special." There was a very definite condescending tone to the droid's voice.

"Yeah I got that, thanks. So why did the invaders do this?"

"Obvious: The same reason why Czerka Corporation is attempting it now. Expanding empires need tremendous amounts of resources."

And the story continued.

"There came a time when the Builders were also judged for their crimes. After generations, a plague weakened them and the time of the Great War begin."

_Hello. That's what you need a Star Forge for..._

"The Builders faltered and his people realized why they had been punished: so they understood the crime and would now strike down the greater offender. They worked chaos in the machines so they destroyed themselves. The Builders fought back, laying waste to the green that had been misused with fire from above. Soil became glass, grinding to sand but the fight was long-planned and my people were safe. Deep in cave-homes carved from valley wall, we were free."

The story was paused for questions. This time it centred around the Great War. The words the storyteller used needed to be translated.

"Clarification: the occupying forces suffered from some sort of species-wide plague that lowered their numbers over time. His people used this extended weakness to sabotage the larger ships. The response of the Builders appears to have been to lay waste to the entire surface of Tatooine."

"How was such a superior force repelled. How in the hell did they do it?"

"Doubting: They didn't Master. They struck a blow but the storyteller believes they won because the Builders were gone when they emerged from their caves. That does not mean the defeated anyone. It seems clear that the Builders simply sterilized their problem and left. The enemy judged them not worthy to fight."

"The Star Forge did this? Glassed a planet?"

"Clarification: I may not have properly conveyed how long they fought with the Builders. Given time any number of armaments could destroy a planet. Did not Darth Malak do so with Telos and Taris. Darth Reven did so as well, though with far more strategy and finesse. General Jedi Knight, Metra Surrik ordered the destruction of Malacor V by using the Mass Shadow Generator.

"Hypnotises: perhaps this is another distortion. Their climate may have begun to fail due to their unrestrained development even before the Builders arrived. Looking back thousands of years later, such a shift could easily be attributed to the much-hated conquers."

"How could they survive such an attack?" Skye said thinking of how to repel Malak's use of the Star Forge.

"Hypothesis: if his people were moving away from technology for a long time under the Builders, they may even been extensive cave systems that could grant shelter."

"Extensive enough to hide a Star Map?"

"Statement: Quite possibly, Master. I would also suggest that given the evidence of the massive shift in the nature of their society, most of them did not survive."

And the story continued.

"Interjection: Master if I may this section of his story details several millennia of "The Long Walk" their nomadic wanderings as they accept their identity in a desert world. Rather then strain my circuits or your mind on his dialect, might we assume there was much fighting over who has the biggest bantha and move to more recent things?"

"Do you see Bastila and Juhani back yet with the vaporators?"

"Negative."

"You think I care about this crap? No I don't but we need to keep them talking. Like you said, I need to buy time."

"Resignation: Very well Master. Wonderful, more tales of inane wandering."

"Just keep them talking. And HK, we'll be taking about this impertinence of yours."

"Statement: Yes Master. Of course Master. I'm looking forward to it."

"I just bet you are."

KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR

At the same time the storyteller was summoned Bastila and Juhani returned to the dewbacks. When Mission saw them she rushed the Jedi then slid to a halt in the sand when she didn't see the woman she was angry with.

"Wait, where's Skye?"

Bastila and Juhani looked at one another.

"Where's Skye!?"

"She opted to remain behind." Bastila said. "She and HK. She's buying time for us to return to Anchorhead."

The girl frowned. "Why? For what? What happened? Bastila... what about my brother?"

"We confirmed your brother is there. That's why Skye is buying us time to get moister vaporators. The Sandpeople only agreed to stop the attacks on the miners and negotiate about the slaves once they have the vaporators. She's completely confused the Chieftain. He doesn't know what to make of her. That's a plus on our side. Now we must do our part."

Mission looked over her shoulder to the gates of the Enclave. "Yeah. Ok." The girl got onto the back of her mount and as they were riding away she spoke up again. "Is Skye going to be okay?"

"I hope so Mission. I truly hope so." Bastila softly responded. The worry dancing behind her eyes clear to read. So much so Juhani road up beside her.

"She will be fine, Bastila. Skye is Skye. She has a remarkable ability to wield people to her point of view. The Sandpeople will not kill her."

Bastila nodded. The concern never left her eyes. _Skye isn't Skye. Skye is Revan. Revan needs to be Revan. She can not be fettered by the lies and torpor the Council indoctrinated her with. It isn't Skye that will win this day, it will be Revan. She must... she has to. Blast it Revan why did you have to play this card? I will be seriously vexed with you if you go and get yourself killed._

'_Because I had to. And thanks Princess for caring.'_

'_I do care Revan.'_

'_I know babe. Don't worry. I got them talking now. If I keep asking questions I think I can stall them long enough until you guys get back. They still don't know what to make of me. I intend to keep it that way."_

'_The same way you did with a few of the Jedi Masters,' there was a smile behind Bastila's words. _

"_Yeah well that was fun. This is a little more harrier. These guys have serious anger issues. It's like the whole damn place is filled with Master Vrooks. Anyway I learned a few things about the Star Forge, I'll tell you later. And I think I've got a pretty good grasp of their language now. HK is truncating a lot of what is being said; still it is kinda interesting and not just from an anthropological point of view. Like I said I'll tell you later. Just hurry back. Interesting or not this place is a cess pit and I want out of here as soon as possible."_


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

There was an old Settlers' saying that you could burn your eyes out faster by staring straight and hard at the sun-scorched flatlands of Tatooine than by looking directly at its two huge suns themselves- so powerful was the penetrating glare reflected from those endless wastes. Despite this, life eked out an existence in the flatlands formed by long evaporated seabeds. One thing made it remotely possible, more precious than gold: water.

Its reintroduction was only marginally accessible. The atmosphere yielded the moisture as willingly as a tyrant issued pardons of execution. It had to be cajoled down out of the harsh azure sky—coaxed, forced, ripped down to the parched surface by vaporators. The small community of moister farmers made life on the death world possible— it allowed the settlement of Anchorhead to survive and thus Czerka was swift to nationalize the water harvests.

Moister farmers were paid based on volume of water they brought in. There were no subsidies, no extension of credit based on water futures. The only way the farmers made any credits was the regular serving of their vaporators. If they didn't have the tech savvy, Czerka offered to send a maintenance crew for a substantial fee. They were also the only ones on the planet to sell vaporators or replacement parts. However Czerka preferred to buy cheep sclerotic equipment and replace it during full maintenance. It made more money for them. For this reason, the corporation always had a healthy stock of vaporators in their inventory.

Bastila stormed the Czerka office in a furry. Despite Skye's advice not to speak with the office rep she did so.

"Do you have the chieftain's gaffi stick?" the terse woman demanded upon seeing the Jedi.

"No."

"Then what are you doing here?" the Rep snidely remarked as if she had every right to speak down to a Jedi like she were a low ranked minion.

"Be silent," came the demand.

The operative wasn't the only person in the air conditioned room to jump in surprise at Bastila's harsh order.

"I don't know what you think Jedi do, but we are not your lap dogs on a leash! We do not do your bidding! We are not your wipping boys or the thick-skulled knuckle dragging hunters you are accustomed to pushing around, exploiting, or manipulating. I believe in no uncertain terms you were told this by Rev... Jedi Ravensong. Do well to remember this. I will die to save your life, to safe the lives of all in this forsaken pit of a city. But I will not be a slave, I will not slaughter for you or anyone else! No Jedi will. You want needless blood, call upon a Sith. But you try to make them your bitch and they will kill you- and I add with no exaggeration- very painfully for such insolence. Something I remind you I am not currently doing!

"We found a peaceful solution to end the conflict with the Sandpeople." Bastila continued. When the operative opened her mouth as if she dared to object, Bastila held up her finger. "I told you to be silent. I will do you a favour. I will show you what you will face if you attempted to do this to a Sith."

The operative's eyes bulged; her hands went to her throat. Her breath stopped, panic seized her heart. Unseen hands wrapped themselves around her neck squeezing the breath out of her.

Then suddenly it was gone. Air filled her burning lungs in suddenly relief.

"It is fortunate for you I'm a Jedi. And I do not do those kinds of things." Bastila said as if asking a server at a diner what was the house special.

The Rep's eyes were watery from nearly choking to death; she regained her balance on unsteady feet. Fear resided in once arrogant eyes- and a new respect.

"This is what's going to happen: out of diplomacy you will fund the purchase of three moister vaporators. We will deliver them, the Sandpeople use them and leave the territory for a new one and thus the miners will be saved. Minimum loss of life. You _will_ do this." Bastila glared at the other human. "Nod your head to indicate you understand."

The other woman nodded.

"Good. Now sign the requisition forms and order your man to release the vaporators." Bastila stepped closer to Rep, her anger gaining the better of her judgement. Skye-Revan was alone with only a homicidal droid as backup in the midst of the enemy. One wrong move, literally, one word misspoke and the Sandpeople would slaughter the woman she loved.

This little paper-pusher peon was not going to stop Bastila from doing all she could to protect Revan. The Council had censured Bastila, demanding she conceal the truth of who Revan was from Skye. She had failed her; it was not going to happen again, especially because of this little twit.

In very short order a team of Czerka grunts hauled out three water vaporators. They were placed on sledges which were then harnessed to the dewbacks.

"Bastila, what was that in there?" Juhani asked coming up to the human. "What you did was... not yourself," amber eyes filled with concern.

"Yeah it was super weird." Mission added.

"I tried a new approach. Perhaps something Skye would have done."

"Ah... I don't think I ever heard Skye say anything like whipping boys or she was someone's bitch." Mission smirked. "But it was kinda funny to hear you say it. And Skye probably would have said those things, not sure about the choking thing though, but maybe."

Bastila retorted defensively. "Skye is speaking with the Sandpeople in the only way they can understand: strength. I spoke to that representative in manner she understands: belligerence. I will not allow that shutta to dictate terms to us. She cannot be allowed to think she has the Jedi on a leash or that we are as Skye said, doormats." She vaulted to the back of her dewback. "Come, Skye is counting on us. We must not terry."

KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR

Just after the battle at the sandcrawler... several hours ago.

The men of the Ebon Hawk were once again left to their own devices. Skye had found her preferred 'team' with her fellow Jedi and occasionally with Mission tagging along. It was typical of Jedi to prefer to work along side their own. Onasi couldn't blame them, hell he preferred soldiers to Force users, why wouldn't they be the same in the preference of their own kind. There was a certain assurance in fighting alongside someone who possesses the same capabilities as you. Inadvertently it created the division of teams: Lightsabers and Blasters with the odd mix of droids and a little Twi'lek scoundrel added to the mix.

During the Mandalorian War the Jedi knights were referred to as Generals. It was an honorific title yes, but those that held the rank were no less deserving of it than the Generals and Admirals that served the Republic army. The Revanchist demanded that her Jedi Generals take to the field along with those under their command, rather than stand in the back and direct.

Despite this hands-on command, Carth had never actually served with a Jedi General. Oh he had worked with Padawan Zayne Carrick but he had not taken to the fields with a Jedi Knight. Not that Canderous was a soldier like him, hell he was the enemy until circumstances made the Mandalorian an ally. But Ordo knew the hard truth of a soldier's life: that you were only as good as the weapon in your hands. A soldier couldn't call upon the mystic powers of the Force to win their battles for them. On the other hand, the Jedi could tier their powers together to create devastating results against their foes. Despite being a known tactic on both sides of the war it was nevertheless still very effective. More so if you could get your enemy in a crossfire between a soldier's blaster fire and the will of a Force user.

The jaded Republic officer couldn't help but wonder if the division wasn't out of tactics but rather out of the sheer fact that the Nagai Jedi didn't trust him. He knew she had no liking for him to be sure. However insane or bizarre the reason, Skye seemed to like Canderous and she trusted Zaalbar. The reality of why Skye did what she did was difficult to discern. At times it was as if she were two different people. Maybe that was true for all Jedi: always caught in the midst of the dichotomy of the Light and Dark side of the Force.

This inner battle of good and evil was why Carth Onasi had a hard time trusting the Jedi. They had a power of such magnitude that a mundane solider like him could never touch. Heroic figures like the Revanchist and Alek Squinquargesimus had become Darth Revan and Malak- two of the most terrifying and powerful beings to strike the galaxy.

A man with a gun, you knew where you stood even if he was the enemy. Someone with the Force... it was a terrible power to wield. Jedi seemed like they could so easily be tempted away from their Code if they felt justified to do so. The Revanchist turned from the Order- from the Code to fight in a war the Council forbade because it was the right thing to do. The events on Cathar was the catalyst for the Revanchist to become Revan and it was the day she first donned the mask from a fallen Mandalorian woman who was killed by Cassus Fett- her own commander- for defending the Cathar people from being massacred. The words spoken by the Jedi Knight that day still echo in every Republic Soldier's mind.

_I don't know your name—but I take up your cause. I will not remove your mask until there is justice—until the Mandalorians have been defeated once and for all. So swears… Revan!_"

Even the Jedi Council was affected by the details that were discovered behind the massacre of the Cathar. Although they were still unwilling to lead the entire Jedi Order into the war, the Mandalorians' war crimes were sufficient enough for the Council to begrudgingly sanction the intervention of Revan and her faction on behalf of the Republic. Officially, they still denounced Revan's actions as unwise and too hasty, and continued to dissuade the rest of the Order from joining Revan's cause. In reality, however, the Mandalorians' own actions made it impossible for them to stand in the way of Revan's cause. However, Revan came up with a solution that would appease the Council and allow her to respond to the growing public clamoring for the Jedi to take action. Inspired by an initiative from the days of the Great Sith War thirty years earlier that had allowed civilian healers to work with the military, she proposed that the Revanchists be deputized into the Republic Military as a Mercy Corps. The Council grudgingly agreed to Revan's request, and the newly-formed Mercy Corps was placed directly under her command. And with her most trusted Jedi General, Meetra Surik, at her side, Reven began to win a string of victories, proving she was a brilliant military leader.

An outsider may ask what relevance, if any, was this to the dividing of the crew of the Ebon Hawk into two diverse teams. To Carth it was no different then the thin line of troop divisions during the Mandalorian War. Only here and now the 'Mercy Corps' consisted of only three Jedi and the 'Military' were nothing more than a rag-tag team of men with blasters and bow casters. Onasi prayed to whatever Great Divine that might be listening, even to the Force itself that this would turn out far better in the end for it. That Skye would not become the new Darth Revan and Bastila would not take Malak's place as her apprentice, which would leave Juhani playing the role of The Exile.

Carth shifted in the saddle of his swoop bike. He felt sticky as sweat oozed down his neck down between the layers of the body suit, armor and undershirt. Despite it all he kept giving sideways glances to Zaalbar to see if Wookiees really did pant in the heat. If they did, Big Z wasn't doing so or if he was, he was doing it covertly. But that was doubtful; Wookiees where not the subtle kind; Onasi doubted they even knew the meaning of the word.

Panting or not Zaalbar was growing more and more irritable each passing moment they were out in the desert. Fortunately he was taking it out on the Sandpeople hit squads and marauding wraid herds. Ordo was doing the same- hell, the old man was laughing when they were overwhelmed by either party of opposition. He was loving it! Carth was positive the aged Mandalorian was even enjoying the forsaken wilting heat of this fracking planet. And they were still no closer to finding that Twi'lek hunter.

The closest they got in finding another hunter was a human man who was pinned by a bunch of droids that his wife apparently reprogrammed to keep him prisoner for his infidelity. The swit could save himself if he was intelligent enough to solve the mathematic riddles within the droids' CPU left there by a very disgruntled wife. The men of the Ebon Hawk decided to leave the man to his fate. He was of no consequence to the mission, let the desert have him. Carth thought of what Skye would have said about the hunter. Probably something about him oozing a certain something that subliminally champions misogyny.

Then where were the Gamorreans who Canderous just shot on sight without bothering to open a dialog. The fight- for it was more of a bar brawl than it was battle- was over so swiftly and finished in such lazy ease it was almost too ridiculous to mention. Carth might have said it was done without breaking a sweat but here on Tatooine that was impossible.

"Hey, you think if those piggies were sliced open they'd sizzle like bacon?" Canderous asked laughingly.

Carth looked to the older male. "You did not just say that."

Zaalbar barked out a chuckle. 'I bit a Gamorrean's arm off once. They don't taste good.'

Ordo shrugged indifferently. "What? Admit it, Republic that was funny. Even the walking carpet found it funny. You have to lighten up. Bet'cha the Whelp would have laughed it up. When the hell did you become such an old man?"

"The day I met you."

"Oh scrutiny. Good for you. Feel better for it?"

"Shut up."

"And the Whelp calls me Old Man. Next you'll be complaining about kids playing on your front lawn."

"Shut up."

Canderous belted out a laugh as he turned his back on Carth and wandered back to his bike. "Come on we've got a tail-head to find."

The Eastern Dune Sea dropped into rising rock formations that cut into the horizon. Formations gave way to canyons of dead old river beds glassed by ancient weaponry and the wind continued the ravaging attacks of erosion. Dark creases in the cannons broke the landscape in to staccato beats of light and shadow. It was the prefect environment for dragon lairs, ambushes and all manner of trouble.

Which was why when the swoop bikes HUDs blipped with seven lifeformes dead ahead none of the men were all that surprised.

"Sandpeople?' barked Zaalbar over the radio, his dialect translated over the radios onboard CPU.

"No." Ordo shook his head. "No banthas. Heat signatures say swoops and land speeders," he took out his binoculars. "To well organized to be a band of hunters. We have ourselves a good old fashioned ambush." He heightened the resolution on the binoculars gaining a better look at the mercs. "Well would you look at that... looks like the Black Suns. Kriffing hell."

"What did you see?" Carth asked looking through his own binoculars. A pause. Then "Oh! I thought you killed that little sack of poodoo."

"Nord is a tough son of a bitch. Harder to kill than a fire-wasp; temper of and disposition of a sarlacc."

"All bugs go splat if you hit them with a big enough windshield." Zaalbar said. "Been wanting to splat him for a long time."

"Yeah well the Sith made a good show of splating him on Taris. Didn't seem to work." Onasi countered.

"Which is why this time we're cutting off his mother-fracking-head." Canderous tossed with a growl. "Onasi take the left flank, furball take the right. I'm taking point. Target the engines of those speeders."

"We'll need to get closer unless that stick up your ass is a sniper riffle. Or did you forget none of our blasters are in range, Mandie?"

"No I haven't forgotten, I was giving orders and expect then to be carried out. Sit here and whine or join. I don't care." Canderous sniped. He turned his back on the Republic solider and began his descent down the sandy embankment. To Carth's extreme right Zaalbar was doing the same. A few seconds later Carth followed.

Ordo knew better. It was sheer stupidity to pick a fight on the battle field. But it was so kriffing damn easy to get into a pissing match the dammed Mandie. He brought out the worst in him and Carth knew it would cost them.

As Carth slipped silently behind a craggy stack of boulders, he felt a familiar feeling in the pit of his stomach. All soldiers felt the same thing going into battle, whether they admitted it or not: fear. Fear of failure, fear of dying, fear of watching their friends die, fear of being wounded and living out the rest of their days crippled or maimed. The fear was always there and it would devour you if you allowed it.

Carth had long known how to turn that fear to his advantage. Take what makes you weak and turn it into something that makes you strong. He hated that Admiral Karath had been the one to instil it into his mind. He hated how true those words were because they came from a traitor he once worshiped.

That too became power for him to harness. Hatred for the Mandalorians, hatred for the Sith, hatred for Saul Karath, hatred for Darth Revan and Malak. Hatred for all Dark Jedi that took up the red sabers. Adrenalin began to pump through his veins as he redirected fear and anger into power.

He lined the blaster's scope up on one of the merc's speeders, a cold veil fell over his eyes and he fired. He moved on automatic. Years of battle hardened tactics drilled into him. He didn't even see the first merc drop: the scope was already moving to the next target. The second merc had just enough time to open his eyes wide in surprise before Carth fired and moved onto the third.

But Nord had seen the first Black Sun go down. He dropped, rolled and dodged behind the cover of the canyon's boulders. Carth resisted the urge to fire wildly but the young Wookiee at his side did not have a soldier's discipline. The sound of blasterfire exploded in the blistering heat of the noon day suns along with the shouts and pounding feet as the Black Sun mercenaries burst from their cover and rushed the companions.

Shots zipped back and forth, ricocheting off the rocks, kicking up dust and sand, spraying bodies with its detritus. Carth knew they only had a few seconds before Nord and the mercs overwhelmed them and tuned the ravine into a killing field, but he couldn't see the shot to take out the nexus.

He saw Ordo whip the riffle around in desperation, looking for a new target across the canyon. He set his sights on a merc crouched down low beside a small rock formation. The Black Sun wasn't moving, and he covered his face as if shielding his vision. The blast from Zaalbar's wild weapon's fire hit the merc square in the chest just as the old Manndalorian's shot rang out near the gang's leader.

"NORD!" Ordo barked out. "Still wearing that butt-ugly mushroom hat?"

"Still a dog for hire Ordo?" came a sharp retort. "What will your brothers say if they knew the great Mandalorian warrior Canderous Ordo came to heel at the boots of a Jedi? Do you even know _who_ you're working for?"

"I know who I'm not working for! You little shit! Who's paying you to count to three now? Sure as fuck ain't Kang."

"Trying to trap me in a monolog? Since when do you speak well, Mandy?"

Carth seized on the opening. Nord's shout gave his location. He lobbed a flash canister. The merc's hiding place vanished in a brilliant white flare, temporarily blinding the Black Suns and Carlo Nord. With their vision gone, Zaalbar and Ordo volleyed lethal plasma grenades-many landing in the seats of the speeders. They erupted in fire balls nanoseconds later as their fuel cells exploded.

A rain of pink, green and yellow-orange mist descended along with shrapnel of meat and metal. It had taken fewer than five seconds to decimate the the nine mercs. The last one, Nord made a run for the edge hoping for yet another glorious escape from death by rushing the edge of the boulder formation hoping to escape in the many crevices of the cannon.

Ordo lined up the shot. Nord's head exploded like a rotten egg or as Canderous imagined the Whelp might have said: 'like the top of a mushroom being popped off by the flick of a thumb.'

Canderous put the riffle back into its holster on his back. "Well now that that is over with, what now?"

Ordo walked up to him. "Why ask me, I thought you claimed leadership of this little band."

"We should tell Ravensong about this." Zaalbar said. "She will want to know."

Both men did not argue.

"He come here on revenge to kill the three of you?" Carth asked Canderous as the trio approached the burning shredded bodies.

"Probably. I would've."

"But how did he know you were even here?" Carth asked, ignoring the obvious baiting.

"It's not like we displayed our itinerary."

"Ain't like we hid we're here either." Ordo snapped back. "The Whelp went off won the kriffing Championship swoop races here, then she and the Princess threatened the slimy slug running the joint to give some tail head swoop jockey a fair-deal, then got into a fight with a handful of dark Jedi. If being discrete is supposed to be a Jedi trait, the Whelp and her little disciples are failing that test in spades."

"The Council said they shouldn't hide their presence wherever they go or the fact they're Jedi." Carth countered.

"Does it matter if they came on their own or were sent?" Zaalbar asked. "A dead enemy is a dead enemy. We tell Ravensong. She'll decide what to do."

"Hate to say it but the walking carpet is right." Canderous said. "Forget the tail-head hunter; we're heading back to the roundabouts point. "

KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR

AN: For those who may protest that Bastlia is a little OOC in this chapter, I wanted to play on Malak telling her that she was tempted to taste the power of the Dark Side through the force bond with Revan. I also want to play on a few of the cannon questions she asks Revan when our hero is still in the dark about her identity, about the Dark Side and the willingness to use it. So while Skye is discovering who she is, about the Force and the dichotomy of Jedi/Sith, Bastila is toying with what is lurking in the shadows. I think it's ludicrous how swiftly Bastila was turned even if Revan spent several weeks at Korriban and the hidden planet of the Rakata. It didn't seem long enough turn a dedicated Jedi Knight to the Dark Side. Maybe it is. I'm having Bastila become a little tempted by the power of the Sith, plus she is a little disillusioned not with the Jedi but with the Council. (A running theme in my stories it seems)


End file.
